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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584175">Mum's the Word</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brave_lil_Lioness/pseuds/Brave_lil_Lioness'>Brave_lil_Lioness</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kblynne/pseuds/kblynne'>kblynne</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Consensual Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Head Boy Draco Malfoy, Head Girl Hermione Granger, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Kissing, Lust, Masturbation, Non-Consensual Kissing, Oral Sex, Sexual Frustration, Sexual Harassment, Teen Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:14:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>73,271</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brave_lil_Lioness/pseuds/Brave_lil_Lioness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kblynne/pseuds/kblynne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>NOW COMPLETE</p><p>The war was won, peace was finally settling over the wizarding community. Even so, life was complicated, being Hermione Granger in a post-war time. She was the "Golden Girl", she was Hogwarts' Head Girl, and she was keeping a painful secret from the world. Of course, secrets tend to have a life of their own, and a secret with its own heartbeat is certainly no exception. To make matters worse, a persistent Head Boy proves a threat to the reputation she holds so dear.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Viktor Krum, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>646</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1031</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
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</div>This wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She was too smart for this. She was Hermione bloody Granger, brightest witch of her year, of her generation! How was she going to explain to a world that was watching her every move that she’d made such a colossal mistake? How would she explain it to her friends? Her family? She knew that none of them would be able to understand it. It’d been a mistake, a horrible, drunken, post-traumatic mistake. How would they ever forgive her? She wasn’t sure she could even forgive herself.<p>She threw the stick into the trash can. She didn’t want to stare at the two little pink lines any longer. “Incindio,” she spoke, her voice deflated, and the contents of the bin went up in flames, quickly burning out, as it was mostly paper product, except for the plastic stick, which continued to melt and burn, removing the evidence of her wrongdoing. When she was sure the small fire had burned out, Hermione pushed herself off the edge of the tub where she’d been seated, wiped the tears from her face, and stared into the mirror.</p><p>Hermione half expected her reflection to look different, which was silly, because it’d only been a few weeks. The only thing different about her reflection today was the puffy redness of her eyes from nearly ten whole minutes of crying. </p><p>A knock on the door startled her, her heart jumping suddenly and beginning to hammer anxiously against her chest. “Just a minute!” she called through the door. The teen splashed some water onto her face and patted it dry with a hand towel, before finally vacating the heavily trafficked loo. It was George she found waiting.</p><p>“Alright, Hermione?” he asked, giving her a once over. She quickly put on a smile.</p><p>“Yes, of course,” she lied, and slipped past him to go up to the room she was sharing with Ginny. </p><p>“Mum says dinner will be ready in five,” George called up the stairs to her before closing the restroom door behind him.</p><p>Hermione wasn’t exactly feeling hungry. If anything she felt ill. One thing she knew for sure; she was never drinking firewhiskey again. Ever. </p><p>She considered if she should even stay. She had a lot to think about, and for the first time, it felt inappropriate for her to be at the Burrow. She looked around the bedroom. A second bed had been set up where in years past only a temporary cot had been erected for holidays. They expected her to stay, to call the place home until she was ready to move on after graduation, or until she married Ron, like she could feel them expecting her to do, especially him. She had always considered the Burrow a second home, or third, if she counted Hogwarts, but recently it felt like a betrayal to the people she considered her family. If they had any idea what she’d done, or moreso, who she’d done it with…</p><p>Hermione pulled her suitcase out from under her bed and set it, open, on top. With a flick of her wand, the drawers to her dresser opened and her clothes began to pack themselves into the case. She would have to leave. She didn’t see any way around it. It wasn’t a big enough house for her to stay in with six other people and not have someone figure it out. She’d have to write them later, come up with some sort of explanation for her sudden disappearance. She didn’t belong here. The family had enough to deal with, mourning the loss of so many friends and family members, especially Fred… The last thing she wanted was for them to have to forgive her for something she couldn’t even forgive herself for. Because they would, they would forgive her, and she couldn’t make them do that. She didn’t deserve it.</p><p>She waited until the house had quieted for the night, and all of her belongings had been packed and shrunk down into her beaded bag. She wore her pajamas over her clothes, and after creeping out of the bedroom as quietly as she could, she snuck out into the garden. She called for her cat as quietly as she could manage. He was out hunting somewhere… Finally, he trotted up to her, and she scooped him into her arms. With one final glance at the tall structure, she passed through the garden gate and disapparated.</p><p>She found herself in Hogsmeade, not knowing where else to go. At least here she could wait things out in private while figuring out what to do. She had considered asking Headmistress McGonagall if she could stay in the castle, trade her assistance in rebuilding the structure for room and board until school started, but then, could she even still go back to school in her condition? Did she want to face the humiliation? The stares? The questions? Maybe she would pass her N.E.W.T.s if she took them now, and then later go on to find a career path.</p><p>The one person she believed she could trust not to judge her, not to rat her out, or expose her indiscretions was Aberforth, so she went to the Hog's Head to ask for a room.</p><p>"There's no lack of vacancies," he'd told her. "Take your pick."</p><p>She settled on a room with a view of the castle, and for eight weeks that's where she’d remain, in that room, looking out over the castle each night and witnessing it miraculously be reborn into its former glory. Her first day at the inn she wrote to her friends, telling them that she was fine, nothing terrible had happened to her, and she didn't need rescuing. She just wanted to spend some time alone, to heal. It wasn't a lie. She craved solitude after so much time fighting just for her right to live.</p><p>She had received her letter to return to Hogwarts as a seventh year student at the end of July, as she'd always hoped she would. To sweeten the pot, she'd even been promised the role of Head Girl. Naturally, Hermione had always wanted to be Head Girl, but before she could accept such an honor, when surely there were other girls who hadn't run away for a year who were equally if not more qualified than her, she knew she needed to sit down with the headmistress and explain her situation. She wrote back after a couple days of consideration, asking McGonagall to meet her right away. To that day she'd never spoken of it out loud.</p><p>"Thank you for meeting me, Professor," Hermione said, fiddling nervously with the cup of decaf coffee in her hands. </p><p>McGonagall looked across the table at the young witch, whom she has always considered a prized pupil, and was proud to call one of her own. She could see that something troubled her, weighing heavily on the teen's shoulders. "It's my pleasure, Miss Granger. I understand you wanted to discuss your return to Hogwarts." She worried about the girl, who seemed too thin and too aged for just eighteen.</p><p>"Yes," Hermione agreed, though she struggled to find more words for a moment. She was grateful that the pub she now lived above was completely void of customers, there was no one to overhear. "The thing is, something's happened… that is to say, I'm currently experiencing…" She simply couldn't figure out how to put it into words. She hoped the venerable old Scott would catch on soon enough to put her out of this misery. "I would love to come back to Hogwarts as Head Girl, however if you feel it more appropriate to give the role to someone else after I say this, please know that I fully support that decision."</p><p>Minerva was becoming impatient, but also, she grew nervous of what she thought Hermione was trying to get out. In an effort to help she reached across the table and covered Hermione's hand with her own, smiling what she hoped would be received as a nurturing smile. "It's alright dear. You can say it." Merlin she hoped this girl wasn't going to say…</p><p>"I'm eight weeks pregnant."</p><p>...that. She was hoping the girl wasn't going to say that. "I see," was all she said at first, and gave the girl's hand a squeeze. She was grateful for the girls candor, it couldn't have been an easy thing to tell her.</p><p>"No one knows. No one. And I'm not ready for anyone to know. I'm only telling you out of respect. Not even Harry or Ron know. It's no one's business. I've done my research, there are ways to disguise my growth in the later months. But at some point in the year I am going to have a baby, and you need to know that in order to make an informed decision on who you want your Head Girl to be."</p><p>There. She'd done it. She'd said everything she needed to say. Now she just had to wait for McGonagall to agree that this year was not her year.</p><p>"Thank you for telling me this," the Headmistress said kindly, and with a final pat, she removed her hand to sip her tea.</p><p>"I've considered deferring for another year," Hermione offered the second option, but to this McGonagall shook her head.</p><p>"I don't believe that would be advisable, nor necessary. And I don't wish to change my mind. Come with me up to the school. I'd like to show you the changes that have been made." It had seemed frivolous to her at the time, but the idea had been a desire of Dumbledore's for quite some time. Any structural changes to the ancient castle would have been completely unthinkable, until now. The rebuild offered an opportunity for change.</p><p>Hermione hesitated. She had definitely hoped that McGonagall would take the pressure off of her and offer the position to the next best student. "Okay," was all she could think to say to the invitation. </p><p>She chanced a look over at the pub owner, who had been gracious enough to not ask any questions these last few weeks. She thought he must know, though. A couple times she'd found ginger tonics outside of her room, which had been mortifying, because it meant he could hear her being ill at all hours of the day and night. She took one last long drink of the useless decaffeinated beverage (which she only drank in hopes of a placebo effect) and set the mug back down, standing from the table. </p><p>When the pair arrived at the castle, Hermione couldn't help but feel it was a bit more haunted than usual. Visions of the battle that ravaged the same grounds just a couple months ago played over in her mind. The school was meant to reopen in just a few weeks, and a great deal of progress had been made to the physical structure. It was rather impressive. So far she didn't identify anything that looked different, on the outside at least. </p><p>She listened as McGonagall listed off the efforts that went into the rebuilding, who played prominent roles in helping, and even puffed up a bit with excitement at the complicated transfiguration that she'd been required to do. Well, she sort of listened. She did hope the Headmistress would get to the point soon. Finally they reached the third floor, a floor she knew all too well, because it was where the library lived. This stretch of the castle didn't seem to have been damaged too badly, or if it had, it'd been fixed well enough that she couldn't tell. She could tell, however, that there were two doors on the wall opposite the library that hadn't been there before. McGonagall stopped in front of them.</p><p>"Behind these doors," McGonagall finally had her attention in saying, "Are the new living spaces for the Head Boy and Head Girl." She paused for a moment, probably to let the idea sink in a bit. "It was Dumbledore's theory, and I can't say I didn't agree with him, that the Head Boy and Girl would greater serve the school if more accessible to all houses, not just to aid the staff, but the students as well."</p><p>Hermione tried to digest that idea. "You want me to live here instead of in the Gryffindor tower?" Hermione questioned dumbly. On one hand, she thought she might miss the cozy couches where she and the boys sat, plotting so many adventures. But they wouldn't be here. None of her roommates would be here. In fact, her only real friend in the house would be Ginny. </p><p>"Shall we take a look inside?" The Headmistress' enthusiasm about the new dorms was evident, and Hermione wished to humor it.</p><p>"Yeah, okay," Hermione forced a smile to say. Minerva spoke a password Hermione didn't bother to memorize, and the door opened with a small clicking sound of its magical lock releasing.</p><p>It was like a small flat, Hermione thought. It had a sitting area featuring a black velvety overstuffed couch and matching armchair, with a door on the left wall she was unsure of, a small breakfast table for two, a kitchenette, and two more doors along the far wall she theorized led to the bedroom and loo. There was also a large desk for studying. It was exactly enough for one person to be comfortable in. </p><p>"I could have privacy," she finally realized McGonagall had been leading up to all along. "But professor, once the baby is born-"</p><p>"You may choose your successor," Minerva finished the thought for her. "You'll have four seventh year Prefects to make your selection from, when the time comes."</p><p>That was something to think about. She could live alone, maintain privacy, study in peace, and when the time came, she could pass the reigns. It was unorthodox, but it just might work. "Miss Granger?" The transfiguration professor's voice reminded her that she'd been silently thinking for several minutes.</p><p>"Okay," Hermione agreed, her smile far less forced than it'd been before. For the first time in several weeks she felt hope. Perhaps she hadn't completely ruined her life after all. "I'll do it."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hermione finally returns to Hogwarts after eight weeks lodging at the Hog's Head, ready to tackle one final year without the burdens of war weighing heavily on her shoulders. Instead she has new burdens, which feel only heavier when she learns the identity of her Head partner.</p>
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</div>For the remaining weeks as summer shifted into fall and September neared, Hermione practiced spells and potion brewing that she planned to use to help hide the shame of her pregnancy from the rest of the world. Extra strength ginger tonics for morning sickness. Disillusionment charms to hide weight gain. Quick-wit draught to keep herself sharp and combat the "pregnancy brain" she'd read about. She even found a spell that was meant to help ease swollen feet, when that time came. Each of these solutions was deemed baby-safe, according to How To Tame Your Pregnancy: A Witch's Guide to Having a Baby (without going mad!).<p>On the first day of school she was more than twelve weeks along, nearly a third of the way through her pregnancy already. She wasn’t showing, not yet. She’d been so thin to start with, and morning sickness had taken a heavy toll. She’d gained two pounds from the day she’d first taken the pregnancy test, but she couldn’t see it in the mirror. She’d had to apparate to London in order to ride the Hogwarts Express with all the other students, one of her Head Girl responsibilities, but it wasn’t until she was sitting in the front carriage of the train, in one of the designated Prefects’ compartments with her faithful familiar at her side, that she learned who had been appointed Head Boy.</p><p>It was ridiculous. It was absurd! How was he even being allowed to return to school? He’d attended last year, why would he even come back? Or maybe he hadn’t attended. What did she know? She hadn’t been there. But why did it have to be him? And why hadn’t McGonagall warned her? Then again, it wasn’t as though she knew better.</p><p>“Hermione Granger…” The silky voice sent a chill straight up her spine, and goosebumps rising on her skin. She looked up at where he stood, leaning casually in the doorframe of the compartment he’d so presumptuously entered. “I should have known it’d be you. You are the brightest, wittiest, sex-”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh knock it off,” Hermione cut him off before he could say another word. “Flattery will get you absolutely nowhere. What do you want?”</p><p>The blonde put on an expression of surprise, perhaps even disappointment. "Oh, don't be like that. I thought we were friends now." </p><p>Hermione scoffed. "You were mistaken." To indicate that she was already bored of this back and forth she picked up the book she'd pulled out earlier and began searching for where she'd left off on the marked page. </p><p>Malfoy made a pained hiss. “Ouch. Now that was mean. That’s no way to start a new year together.” He invited himself fully into the compartment now, sliding the door closed behind him. Hermione picked her head up when she heard the lock click into place.</p><p>Draco Malfoy had always been cutting, cruel, and undoubtedly a bully. Today it seemed he had chosen to be a giant pain in the arse instead, and she knew why. Harry and Ron weren't here, and now he was free to harass her in a whole new way, not for her blood, but for her gender.</p><p>"You still haven't answered my question," Hermione pointed out, returning her attention to her book. Maybe if she ignored his advances long enough he'd get bored and leave her alone.</p><p>"Well," Malfoy started in, pleased to be able to air his agenda. "I just happened to notice a particular lack of the gangly male companions that usually flank your sides. Could it be that you're flying solo this year?"</p><p>Hermione sighed heavily. "If you're referring to Harry and Ronald, that is correct. They've tested out." With moderately acceptable scores, that is. "In fact I rather think I'll get more studying done without the distraction of their antics this year." Not that she hadn't already received top marks even with such distractions. She looked up at him briefly over her pages. "In fact I think a year void of all male distraction is something I'm rather looking forward to." She returned to her reading, but not before seeing the curling of his pale pouty lips. Merlin, she hated that smirk. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She felt more unsettled by his presence than usual.</p><p>"Well I hate to break it to you, but I believe that as Head Boy and Girl we're going to be working together quite intimately this year." </p><p>The hair on Hermione's arms rose with the sudden chill that washed over her, and a barely audible gasp ghosted out of her. "You're a pig," Hermione stated irritably when she recovered.</p><p>"Be that as it may," he replied without missing a beat, "the way I see it you and I should put on a united front." He sat himself next to her, and Hermione quickly stood to move to the other bench. Draco was quicker. "Now just where are you trying to go?" </p><p>Hermione's breath caught in her throat. She was cornered between him and the window. He must have realized this too, because he then extended his hands onto the glass on either side behind her, boxing her in. His chest was nearly touching hers, and she could hear her blood rushing through her veins. He was too close. The last time he'd been this close she'd thought he was charming. In her whiskey-addled mind it seemed flattering. She'd enjoyed the attention. She mentally cursed the thought, along with her own naivete. There was nothing charming or flattering about this blonde devil's attention.</p><p>"Away from you," she finally remembered to answer, glaring up at him bravely. Instead of taking this as the obvious clue to back away that she'd meant it as, Malfoy reached one hand up to toy with a loose curl. Hermione flinched away from his touch. "I'm not joking, Malfoy. I don't want you here. I don't even know why you've come back, much less as Head Boy." She spoke as coldly and stone-faced as she could, and it seemed to get through to him, perhaps too well. His hands fell from her sides. He almost looked hurt.</p><p>"I just thought…" Suddenly his molten eyes had hardened, and the playful smirk fell just as his arms had. "Right." The word was curt, and she could see in an instant the wall building itself between them. "Whatever you say, Granger." Hermione watched as her partner retreated.</p><p>Finally feeling as though the oxygen had returned to the room, she took a deep breath and returned to her original seat. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, and when she returned to read her book she found her vision impaired by tears she hadn't noticed filling her eyes. She blinked them away but more came to replace them. She became angry, unnerved by her own emotions. Just then she felt a weight in her leg, one pressure point, then two. Crookshanks leaned his face towards hers, purring comfort into her loudly. Like a poorly built dam, she broke.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always I want to know what you think! Comments, praise, ideas, speculations, suggestions, all of the above. It's like FOOD for this eager writer!</p><p>ALSO, after today I'll be switching to a WEDNESDAY upload.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
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</div>He hadn't been exaggerating when he said that they'd be working together rather intimately. It turned out that the mystery door in her sitting room led to another door, one accessible only to the Head Boy. This allowed for easy, consensual visitations between the Head partners as needed, and as it so happened there were a long list of reasons they needed to consult one another, according to the Head Boy.<p>By the third week of school Hermione had already spent more time with Draco Malfoy than in the last seven years combined. Every time, without fail, he was arrogant, lewd, and dammit, he was effective. When he wasn't being completely inappropriate, he was helpful with the patrol schedules, he was an effective authority figure during patrols, as well as during the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, which happened to double as Hermione's nineteenth birthday. </p><p>The two Heads played chaperone to the younger students, escorting them down to the village and making themselves available to them for any questions they might have or directions they might need. By noon Hermione had had about enough of being on her feet, and sucking on a sugar quill as she explored the village was about all that was keeping her from succumbing to dizzy spells. Her symptoms were now in full-swing, and while some had been remedied away, others she'd just have to live with. At fifteen weeks pregnant, Hermione was tired, achy, and growing.</p><p>She'd lost about ten pounds in her first trimester, but her deflated stomach had suddenly formed a barbarely noticeable, very solid feeling half-moon shape now that the morning sickness had subsided and she'd started to put the weight back. She was up five pounds now from her original weight. Thankfully, it was an easy thing to hide still. She'd never been in a habit of wearing particularly tight clothing, so as long as she wore a robe or jacket no one would be any the wiser. </p><p>She made her way to the Three Broomsticks, ordered a pumpkin juice, as well as a large order of chips, sans fish, as the smell made her very ill. The greasy potatoes tasted like heaven, and she sat happily alone in her booth, savoring piece after steaming hot piece. Of course that solitude was not meant to last, and a few minutes later a certain blonde slid into the both across from her. Hermione let out a small disappointed sigh, her moment alone with her food spoiled as he boldly reached across the table to help himself to a chip from her basket.</p><p>“Must you disturb my meal?” she asked, too used to his bothersome presence to waste time being surprised. </p><p>Draco raised an eyebrow, looking from her to the basket of fries and up again while he chewed and swallowed. “You call this a meal?”</p><p>Hermione cursed him with her glare. “It’s all I was in the mood for,” she found herself explaining. “And it’s seriously hitting the spot, too,” she added pointedly, pulling the basket closer to her defensively. </p><p>“Alright, alright, I’ll just get my own.” Malfoy smirked across the table at her before flagging down a waitress and placing an order for fish and chips. </p><p>“I don’t recall inviting you to join me,” Hermione pointed out, before putting another cut of potato-y goodness into her mouth. Just because he’d seen fit to impose himself on her once again didn’t mean she should let her food get cold. She needed to eat quickly, because she knew she wouldn't be able to tolerate the smell of his food when it arrived. "Need I even bother ask to what I owe this intrusion?"</p><p>"Granger," Malfoy cooed in what she'd learned was meant to be his flirtatious voice. "What kind of message would we be sending the students if we can't even share a meal together?"</p><p>Unity; it was the call to action all across the magical community of the UK, and most especially at Hogwarts. Of course when it came to Malfoy, it was just an excuse to bother her at all hours of the day and night. “Well of course we can,” Hermione tilted her head and smiled in what was meant to be a feminine manner. “But do we have to?”</p><p>“You’re cute when you’re all feisty like that,” Draco told her with an arrogant smirk, reaching for another fry. Hermione huffed out an agitated breath through her nose, but allowed it. </p><p>“I’ve told you already, Malfoy, you and I? We’re not a thing. We never were a thing. We’re not going to be a thing.” His advances were growing in frequency and persistency. She may have found it charming if not for their history. She didn’t hate the attention, just the fact that it was coming from him.</p><p>Draco grinned at her, as though he knew something she didn’t, which was ironic given what she was so deliberately hiding from him. “You keep saying that, but I just keep failing to believe you.” His butterbeer arrived, and he thanked the server and took a drink.</p><p>“That’s because you have issues with boundaries,” Hermione pointed out. She wished he’d stop looking at her like that. It made her highly uncomfortable. </p><p>“Well, what can I say? I’ve had a taste, and now I want more.” </p><p>As his words most certainly intended, Hermione blushed furiously. “You’re absolutely foul.” She breathed deeply in hopes to calm the rage that was beginning to boil inside of her. “And you’ve had plenty. More than…” She was frazzled, the perversion of his words made her remember that night, that terribly drunken night. “You know, muggles are allowed to press charges against blokes for doing what you did.” She began scooting out of the booth with her basket of chips in hand, needing to escape. </p><p>He moved more quickly than she was able to, and his arm wrapped around her middle to stop her leaving, hand coming to rest on her stomach. A surge of energy jolted her stomach, and in her surprise her hands opened, dropping the basket of chips to spill onto the dirty floor. “Don’t touch me.” She hadn’t meant for the words to be so venomous, or she had, but she wasn’t entirely sure why she thought it necessary.</p><p>Malfoy was left visibly stunned for the briefest moment. His hand fell away from her, and he took a step back. “Bloody hell. You act like…” He hardened again, as he had on the train. “You and I both know you wanted-”</p><p>“Stop.” She began stepping backwards away from him. “I don’t want to talk about that night. It didn’t happen, okay?” Hermione slipped out of the pub, needing to put as much space between herself and her blond demon as possible. She wandered down the street, paying little mind to anyone she passed. Her mind was swimming with questions and doubts and fears. He’d touched her, put his hand right on top of her small bump. Could he feel it? </p><p>She’d never felt such movement inside of her. The moment his hand touched her she’d felt it, a small flutter inside of her. It wasn’t like the metaphorical “butterflies” people often described in moments of nervousness. It was a very literal feeling, and she knew it came from the life inside of her, the life up until now she’d hardly been willing to acknowledge. It was real. It was alive. And it had responded to it’s father’s touch. She felt a pang of jealousy. She touched her own stomach all the time and never felt a thing.</p><p>She kept walking until she found an empty space between two buildings, and she tucked away into the alleyway for a chance to catch her breath. She pressed her back into the brick wall of her beloved bookshop, and let one hand slip under her sweater, skin against skin, and cradled her stomach gently. She concentrated hard, steadying her breathing and mind and trying to focus solely on the pear-sized being within her. Her eyes closed.</p><p>“Come on, little one…” Hermione encouraged desperately. She’d spoken to her stomach before, occasionally, when she was alone, but she’d yet to feel the sort of bond she thought a woman was supposed to feel with her unborn child. She knew it was her own fault. She was doing it all wrong. She shouldn’t have run away so quickly. She should have stayed, and let her friends support her through this. But how could she without confessing that she’d made such a horrible mistake with the most horrible choice in boys? “Don’t let him get all the attention. It’s mommy’s birthday…”</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
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</div>“SURPRISE!” The sudden and unexpected presence of all of Hermione’s closest friends inside of her sanctuary of a dorm was beyond startling, and in her shock she dropped the shopping bag filled with sweets and school supplies she’d brought back with her from the village. It’d been a long walk back from town, and she was tired. She’d had every intention of spending the rest of her evening in bed with her cat, her candy, and a good book. It seemed as though that was no longer an option.<p>But she wasn’t mad. In fact, she was relieved. She hadn’t had the chance to see most of her loved ones since returning to school. As she’d started school, Harry, Ron, and Neville had all started Auror training. George had thrown himself into his work at the joke shop. Luna hadn't returned to school, and Hermione assumed that like the boys she'd tested out. Ginny was in school like her, and they were in the same year now, as well, but they didn’t get to see much of each other outside of classes. To see them all in the same room, with smiles on their faces, not angry with her for neglecting her relationship with each of them in recent months, was enough to chip away at the ice that she could feel forming around her heart daily.</p><p>Her expression shifted from shock to glee and settled, finally, on anguish. She began to sob into her hands, hating herself for being such a terrible friend these last three months. Sodding hormones!</p><p>“Oh, Hermione!” Ginny said with a sympathetic chuckle, wrapping her arms around her sobbing classmate. “We all love you. Whatever it is you’re going through, we're here for you, and we forgive you.” They all had been angry, hurt, or both when Hermione vanished in the middle of the night. They were all grieving, all in different ways. If Hermione needed to do so alone, they’d decided they couldn’t judge. They had given her her space. Until, that is, today, because today was Hermione’s birthday, and they couldn’t let it go by unacknowledged.</p><p>Hermione stood rooted by the door as each of her friends greeted her with hugs and affirming words, which she didn't feel remotely deserving of. Finally, when the wave of greetings was over, she wiped her tears away and sniffed deeply. "I can't believe McGonagall let you all in here," Hermione attempted a joke through her stuffy nose in order to relieve the tension.</p><p>"I can't believe we got all this past her," George responded with a cheeky grin, moving to reveal that her kitchen table was now heavily laden with a variety of alcoholic beverages, as well as junk foods.</p><p>Well, they were all of age, not that she could partake. "You sneaky prat," she replied lovingly. "Alright, alright. It's Saturday night. We may as well."</p><p>With her consent received, her uninvited guests turned on a radio Hermione hadn't realized she had (maybe they'd brought it with them?) and the party swept into action. Within minutes everyone had a drink in hand, and conversations were breaking out in small groups. Hermione made a point to pour herself a cup full of whiskey, which she later transfigured into simple apple juice.</p><p>It was nice, hanging out with her friends, catching up. Not once did someone bother her for an explanation, and she was under the distinct impression that it was a mutually agreed upon order. Instead she took the time to figure out what was going on in everyone else's lives. Perhaps the most interesting update was that of Neville and Luna, who were quite obviously attending as a couple, and the large bump protruding out from Luna’s sweater dress told her that they would soon be upgraded from duo to trio. </p><p>“Well, this certainly explains why you’re not in school,” Hermione told Luna warmly as she embraced her in a gentle hug, Neville flanking her side dutifully. It appeared the home they’d created inside the room of requirements the year before had been used for more than just hiding from the Carrows.</p><p>“Thought Gran would have a heart attack when we told her. Lucky I got into the Auror academy, mouths to feed and all.” Neville, though tired looking, beamed with pride at the mention of the family he was starting. She had to admire him. A year ago she’d have thought he didn’t have it in him, but when he walked through that passageway into the Hog’s Head the evening of the battle, she knew that he had come a long way from the short chubby boy she’d used a body-binding spell on when they were kids.</p><p>“Well I think it’s wonderful,” Hermione told them with a beaming smile, though inside her heart ached with jealousy. They seemed so happy and in love. It was how a couple should feel during such a precious time. They chatted for several minutes more before they were replaced by other guests, each respecting her privacy with questions unasked, and therefore unanswered.</p><p>Harry and Ginny were reunited, as she knew they would be. Neville and Luna were a fitting match in her book. George was focused on work, and still intended to open a new location in Hogsmeade, as soon as he could find someone he trusted to run the Diagon Alley location in his absence. And Ron? </p><p>Well, Ron looked at her with longing from across the room. She knew why. She hadn't exactly rejected him, but in taking off the way she had, it was as good a rejection as any. Besides, he wouldn't want her now anyway. She wouldn't insult him by trying to pretend her child was his. Even if she'd made love to him immediately after learning she was pregnant there would still be a four week difference, and even if he never bothered to do the math, she could never do that to him. He wasn't perfect, but he was good-hearted, and he didn't deserve to be deceived.</p><p>"So, pretty fancy," George commented to her as he approached again, looking around the dorm. "Got this whole thing to yourself?"</p><p>Hermione smiled and sipped her juice. "Yes," she replied. "It's nice, quiet. I couldn't imagine having to readjust to academia in the midst of the Gryffindor madness." </p><p>"I think Percy will lay an egg when he learns you got a Head dorm and he didn't." They both laughed, and it sounded foreign to each of them. "What's in there?" He asked, inclining his head towards the passageway from dorm to dorm. Hermione blushed slightly, which did not go unnoticed. "Is that where you've hidden Malfoy's body?" George inquired deviously. </p><p>"Well, yes, actually," Hermione confessed grimly, confusing the joker. She could tell that he was expecting an explanation for that one. "That door leads to the Head Boy dorm. But it's a double-door," she clarified quickly. "Like you'd find in adjoining hotel suites? He can't just come bursting in on me. I’d have to open my side too."</p><p>George nodded while considering that idea. "Scandalous…" he decided, smirking slightly. Hermione gave him a warning look. </p><p>"Stop it, that's not even remotely funny. And don't you dare tell Ron. You know he'll go insane just thinking about it." The last thing she needed was Ron making a fuss about her living arrangements.</p><p>"It's alright. Your secrets are safe with me." He touched an index finger to the side of his nose twice, and Hermione got a suddenly uneasy feeling that he wasn't just referring to the door.</p><p>"George-" She started, trying to figure out how to approach him. Did he know something? </p><p>"Oi," the redhead interrupted. "Your bin fires are your own business. Like I said…" He tapped his nose twice more, polished off the contents of his drink, and headed back to the table for another. He’d seen the burnt remnants of the little plastic stick, and had managed to put the pieces together after she disappeared, but it wasn’t his business or anyone else’s. If she wanted them to know she’d have told them.</p><p>Hermione flushed white as she watched him go. She supposed in her hurry to vacate the bathroom that day she'd failed to dispose of the evidence of the disposal of the real evidence. It was an amateur mistake. But it wasn't as though he knew what she'd burned, right? He was a wizard. What were the odds that he’d even know what it was if he did find it?</p><p>She felt the familiar rubbing against her legs, and looked down to see Crookshanks greeting her. He mewled up at her in annoyance, disturbed by all the noise and people invading their space. She leaned over and scratched his head, before stroking the length of his back and up his tail several times. While she shook the loosed fur from her hand, he moved on to find someone new to get attention from. </p><p>Looking around the room, Hermione couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to have her friends around again. Maybe she didn’t need to avoid them so much. Especially Ginny, who she saw every day and yet had never felt further away from... Her hand dropped away from her stomach suddenly. She hadn't realized she'd been cradling it again and had no idea how long she'd been doing so, or if anyone had seen. She swore under her breath and sighed, and soon after guilt gripped at her again. A child deserved better from its mother.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
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</div>The party wound down around eleven, and Hermione was properly exhausted. It'd been a fun evening, involving games and dancing and conversation that had nothing to do with war or Voldemort or horcruxes. For the first time in a long time Hermione felt like a teenager. When at last the final guests had gone, Hermione changed into a simple lavender nightgown and began to prepare for bed. She had just gone out to retrieve a book she'd left on the coffee table from that morning when she heard a knock at her side door. There could be only one person behind it.<p>Hermione had thought she was done with him for the day, but apparently he hadn't had enough of making her miserable, not even on her birthday. Regretfully, Hermione stepped up to the door.</p><p>"What do you want now?" She called through the wooden barrier, wanting to sound both bored and annoyed.</p><p>"I have something for you. A peace offering," was the reply.</p><p>She couldn't imagine what it was he could offer her that would actually make her hate him any less, but curiosity had her, and she opened the door anyway.</p><p>Displayed atop his outstretched hand sat a single red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. It was topped with shimmering red sugar crystals and a single lit candle, which glowed in the dim space between them. Hermione tried to be annoyed, but it was rather difficult.</p><p>"I heard it was your birthday."</p><p>It was nearly impossible for the Head Girl to not blush at the way he was looking at her, as though she was the cupcake and he had a craving for something sweet.</p><p>"That's very sweet of you," Hermione reluctantly told him. She made to blow out the candle, and he pulled it away.</p><p>"Don't forget to make a wish," Draco reminded her, before presenting it again.</p><p>She had to give it a bit of thought. Her initial reaction was to wish that she'd never gotten pregnant, but she was immediately aware that it was a deplorable thing to think, even to herself. Instead, she wished that no one would ever know who the father was. Yes, this was a fair wish. She let out a small puff of air, extinguishing the miniature flame, before taking the offering. </p><p>She wasn't sure if he was aware that red velvet with cream cheese was her favorite, or if he'd simply made a lucky guess. She wiped a bit of frosting up with one finger and sucked it clean.  She looked up at him through her lashes as she did so.</p><p>"Was there something else?" she asked innocently, since he'd completed his task in offering her her gift. She was teasing him. She wasn't entirely sure why, but it felt good to do so. It felt as though she had the upper hand for once. She sucked another tiny dollop of frosting from her fingertip.</p><p>"Actually," Draco started, swallowing a lump in his throat as he watched a third sample of the sugary topping disappear between her lips. "There was something else I was hoping to give you."</p><p>He moved towards her so quickly she almost didn't step back in time, and in a few short strides the back of her legs hit the side of her overstuffed chair, the one she liked to read in. His eyes were predatory, and his lips claimed hers in an act of pure rebellion. </p><p>Hermione was stunned, but her lips remembered his, and greeted them as friends rather than attackers. Her only defense was to hold the hand containing her dessert out of harm's way, lest it be crushed between them. She mourned the loss of him when their lips parted, and cursed herself for it.</p><p>"You can't just come in here and-" However Hermione had planned to conclude that complaint became lost as Draco lowered himself in front of her and pushed her gown up past her waist. "What are you..." She gasped loudly. His face was between her legs, and she could feel his warm breath on her severely neglected womanhood.</p><p>He was pulling her knickers down until they fell around her feet, revealing a neatly trimmed landscape of femininity. "You have absolutely no right!" Hermione argued, but her words went ignored, and she remained rooted in her spot. He parted her lips with one finger, running it up and down her seam a couple of times, before spreading them with the assistance of a second digit. His mouth joined in the effort then, sucking on her newly revealed clit and then letting his tongue lap and prod at her exploratorily. </p><p>Hermione hissed an expletive that usually felt foreign on her proper tongue, and clenched her bottom lip between her teeth to avoid any additional outbursts. The cupcake fell from her grasp and rolled across the floor, forgotten, sugar crystals forever lost in the carpet. She leaned back against the chair until her bottom rested on the edge of the arm and lifted a bent leg to the side, allowing him more room to work. He moaned appreciatively, sending vibrations through her core that made her walls clench down upon nothing. Her mouth fell open to reveal a bottom lip now red and swollen from abuse.</p><p>She'd tried to forget what wonderful things his mouth had once done to her. How could someone so repulsively arrogant be capable of an act so deliciously sinful that it stripped her of her ability to think? One hand came to rest on the chair, supporting her, while the other tangled into his platinum hair, pushing his face shamelessly into her. If he insisted on violating her she was going to get the most out of it. She much preferred his tongue swirling around inside of her than being used to cut her with words sharp as knives, though come to think of it, he hadn't done so once in these last three weeks. </p><p>"Yes, oh gods yes!" Hermione moaned out. Her body rolled against his efforts. There was a pair of fingers pumping inside of her now, and his nose was pressed firmly against her sensitive nub while he licked and sucked, worshipping every part of her cunt. She could have stayed that way forever, but it only took a matter of minutes for her to begin to topple. "Don't stop. I'm cummimg!" the Head Girl announced, and as promised her body shook with pleasure, the novice passage gripping his fingers violently. She could feel his fingernails scraping her innards as he continued his efforts to pleasure her through her climax, extending it through several waves.</p><p>When at last her body had exhausted itself, Hermione was left panting, heart pounding so loudly that she could hear her own pulse. She released her hold on his hair. She was at a complete loss for words, something she rarely experienced.</p><p>He was still down there, licking away the mess he'd caused. When he finally got back to his feet in front of her, he made a show of sucking his fingers clean, and wiped his face clean on a monogrammed handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.</p><p>"That was nice," Hermione breathlessly complimented. "I'm going to go to bed now." She lowered her nightgown. "You can go."</p><p>"Don't say I never gave you anything," was Malfoy's silky reply.</p><p>Hermione woke with a start, and she swore she could still feel the wetness between her legs. She put a hand down between her legs and realized that despite the fact that it'd been a dream, the wetness was very, very real. Hermione groaned in despair. While she was thankful that she hadn't actually given into him and opened that can of worms anew, she was now incredibly frustrated. As she found herself doing often anymore, she blamed hormones.</p><p>Her fingers still inside of her knickers, Hermione turned over onto her stomach, and began to rub herself. The weight of her body sandwiching her hand between her clit and her mattress proved useful, and she rocked her body into her hand, attempting to relive the steamy dream sequence. She thought about his pointed tongue, dipping in and out of her so dutifully, breaking up the pattern with long flat strokes up her slit. She thought about his teeth nibbling on her swollen and sensitive clitoris, sending shocks of pleasure through her core. She thought about his long, slender fingers driving into her wet cavern, pressing into her g-spot with expert precision. She didn't relent until her body began to shake with the small but very necessary orgasm.</p><p>She returned to her back and sighed, wondering when she'd ever get to feel the touch of a man again. Self-service simply wasn't the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh Hermione you horny little prude...</p><p>As always please leave a Kudos (if you haven't already) and a Comment. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you think will happen next, and what you WANT to see happen down the line!</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
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</div>The next day Hermione received a belated birthday letter from an old friend. The familiar handwriting brought a smile onto her lips as she settled down at the breakfast table with the letter in hand. <p>'My beautiful Hermione, Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day with friends and family. I heard you made Head Girl. I am so proud! I knew you could do it. You have always been the smartest girl I have ever known. I miss you. I would like to visit you soon if you will have me. It has been too long. We can catch up? Please let me know. Forever yours, Viktor.'</p><p>Even though his English had improved considerably over the years, thanks to four years of writing back and forth, she still read the message in his thick accent, and the fact that he still hadn’t learned how to use English contractions endeared him to her all the more. She was glad she'd decided to keep in touch with the Bulgarian Seeker after the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He'd proven to be a great friend, a reliable pen pal, and for one beautiful night when she was sixteen, a caring and gentle lover. Though it'd been unplanned, she could think of no one better to have shared her first (and until recently, only) sexual experience with.</p><p>The owl who had delivered the letter remained stationed in her window, waiting, she assumed, for her response. So, with a piece of buttered toast clenched between her teeth, Hermione moved to the desk to pen her reply.</p><p>‘Viktor, I’m so happy to hear from you! My birthday was lovely, thank you. I would love to see you again. My room is connected to the floo network under the title “Hogwarts Head Girl Dorm”. Please do come visit me soon. I didn’t know how much I craved your company until I got your letter. Just tell me when. Talk to you soon. Affectionately yours, Hermione.'</p><p>Hermione heard back from Viktor before the end of the day, saying that he could be free Friday evening. Hermione agreed that that would be perfect. Though she dreaded the wait, it was good to finally have something nice to look forward to. </p><p>On Wednesday Hermione was visited privately by the school healer, Madame Pomfrey. She was not necessarily sympathetic of the Head Girl's plight, but was at least professional enough to keep the pregnancy confidential. As it was her sixteen week visit, Hermione was offered the opportunity to learn the sex of the child. Hermione was hesitant, but just before the healer made to leave, Hermione stopped her and asked.</p><p>"Congratulations, Miss Granger. It's a girl." The news came as a great relief to her. She didn't think she could raise a mini-Draco. A little girl. Yes, she could handle that. </p><p>When Friday came at last, Hermione did something she hadn’t done in months. She did her hair, soft and sleek curls that she pinned away from her face. She did her makeup. She evened out her complexion, and played up her eyes with some shimmery eye shadow, dark liner, and mascara. She did her lips as well, but at the last minute decided it was too much. It wasn’t a date. It was just a reunion between two friends. She removed the solid lip color, applying a subtle red stain instead.</p><p>She wore a black tunic style top over black jeans, which she hoped would keep her bump subtle. She was trying to avoid having to use magic to disguise her belly, but she wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer. She donned her feet with a simple pair of silver ballet flats, which were barely suitable for walking around the castle, much less the outdoors, but were perfect to wear around the dorm, and were currently tucked underneath her as she waited for his arrival. Fifteen minutes, give or take. She opened her current read, a book on caring for your newborn witch or wizard. She didn’t know much about children, had never really been exposed to any. Even if she had knowledge of what to do with a muggle child, she had to assume that a magical one would be twice as complicated.</p><p>Finally, after a chapter on proper nipple care, her fireplace roared to life, and Hermione had just enough time to tuck the book behind the throw pillow behind her back before Viktor Krum emerged from within the flames. She stood and, after waiting a moment while he vanished the soot from his clothing, embraced him in a much needed, very tight hug. Feeling his strong arms around her was a comfort she hadn’t been privy to in far too long. She kissed his cheek before being released, and he kissed her forehead in response.</p><p>His smile reached his eyes as he looked her over, so warm that it made her blush. “Mione, you look beautiful,” he told her. Coming from another boy she might have rolled her eyes and questioned his motive, but coming from Viktor it just made her heart swell.</p><p>“You look pretty dashing yourself,” Hermione deflected. “Come, sit with me.” She took his hand and led him around the coffee table back to the couch and pulled him down with her. He sat beside her, and she turned her body to face him, feeling rather excited and nervous now that he was here. “I’m so happy you’re here,” she gushed, feeling like a fifteen year old girl all over again.</p><p>Sometimes she wondered to herself why she’d let him go. There’d been a myriad of reasons at the time. The age difference, the geographical distance, his career, her education, her woefully misguided attraction to Ronald Weasley… But they all seemed so silly now that she was older. Perhaps the real reason was that, as much as she adored being adored by him, she’d never quite felt the same way in return, and she’d had the decency, even when she was so young, to not lead him on.</p><p>The two sat and talked for what must have been hours. They talked about the war, they talked about relationships, or the lack thereof, and talked about the last time they’d been alone. They’d seen each other at Bill and Fleur’s wedding a year ago, yes, but the last time they’d been truly alone was during the summer after her fifth year. She was sixteen, nearly seventeen years old, and her parents had (after much hesitation) permitted her to have Viktor for a visit. They didn’t approve of his age, or the fact that he was a famous athlete, but after meeting him they were grudgingly won over by his charm and politeness. He was quite the gentleman despite his rough exterior.</p><p>It was so easy, talking to him. He was kind, and understanding, and a good listener. And Hermione realized that she had an opportunity to share with him the one thing she’d been keeping in for so long. She contemplated, and realized that she had failed to listen to whatever it was he was telling her now when she heard him speak her name, drawing her out of her thoughts.</p><p>“Hermione,” Krum called to her again, trying to break through her concentrated thoughts. “Mione, what’s wrong?”</p><p>Had it shown on her face? Hermione sighed, looking up to meet his gaze fully. She opened her mouth to speak but her words caught in her throat. She choked on a sudden sob, one that surprised them both equally. </p><p>“What is it?” he prodded further, concerned.</p><p>Hermione tried to gather herself. She could no longer deny that something was wrong, she just had to build up the courage to tell him what it was. She hadn’t planned on it before now, but she realized it might have been why she invited him all along. She needed someone she could confide in. Someone who wouldn’t take her transgression as a personal offense. Draco Malfoy meant nothing to Viktor.</p><p>“I’ve been keeping a secret,” Hermione began her confession, eyes beginning to water. “And I can’t stand it. I need to tell someone.”</p><p>Krum’s thick brows furrowed together as he looked at her. “Of course,” he agreed heroically. “You can tell me anything.”</p><p>She knew he’d say that, which was why he was the right person for this. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of what words to use, but none seemed right. Instead, she carefully stood from the couch. “The thing is…” She took a steadying deep breath, and flattened the material of her top over the curve of her stomach, revealing the now rather obvious shape of it, which would have been impossible to notice while she was sitting all that time. She watched the realization wash over him as he stared at the roundness. “I made a mistake,” she told him, looking at her stomach now as well. “It was just a stupid, drunk mistake. And now I can never take it back.” She blinked and a couple of tears escaped her.</p><p>Krum looked up just in time to see the drops fall from her eyes, and he stood up as well. “Hermione, this is not a mistake,” he told her, wiping new tears away with his thumbs. “This is the miracle of life.”</p><p>His words hit her in an unexpected way, and her body shook with a sudden hard sob. She covered her face in shame as she cried. Shame, because she didn’t have enough respect for those who loved her to let them help her in this important time in her life. Shame, because she’d let someone so undeserving have her in such an intimate way. Shame, because she was still so attracted to that undeserving monster that it penetrated her dreams. And mostly, shame, because she’d spent these last three months resenting her child, her daughter, rather than loving her.</p><p>His strong arms wrapped around her once more, and she melted into him, crying freely into his shoulder. She would have liked to be able to say that she didn't usually break down this way but the truth was it was happening with more and more frequency. What was nice was that for the first time she didn't have to do it alone.</p><p>"My sweet Hermione…" Viktor whispered into her hair, placing a gentle kiss atop her head. </p><p>It dawned on Hermione suddenly that this man truly saw her, without expectations, and without needing anything from her. He'd always accepted her for being nothing more or less than exactly herself. She picked her head up, sniffed deeply, and looked into his dark yet soft eyes. "Viktor," she tested his name on her tongue like it was the very first time, and brought her hand up to stroke against his scruffy face. That desire she'd had a few days before, the need to be touched, to be kissed, to be pleasured, came back to her in full, and she brought her lips to his in a desperate kiss.</p><p>He hesitated, his affection for her so pure that he wasn't sure if he should allow this, but her lips mauled and sucked on his until he could do nothing but accept that this was what she wanted, and there was certainly no questioning that he wanted it as well. Overpowering her was only too easy. A woman wanted to be taken, not to take, so he held her body against his possessively. It made her weak in the knees.</p><p>Her hands smoothed up and down his hard chest, before sliding to rest around the back of his neck. She moaned into his mouth, before breaking contact for air. They remained unmoving, and the only sound between them was their heavy breathing. Finally, Hermione cut into the silence before she could lose her nerve to do so.</p><p>"Will you do me a favor?" the teen asked, still breathless.</p><p>"Anything," Krum replied automatically.</p><p>Hermione hesitated only a moment before making her request. "Will you make love to me?"</p><p>For as quickly as he first responded, he was equally hesitant now that he heard what it was she wanted. "Mione…" he tread lightly. </p><p>"I can't regret you," she swore to him quickly, understanding his trepidation. "It's impossible. It's you. I didn't regret it then and I won't now." When he still didn't agree right away, she took two steps back from him and lifted her blouse up over her head, tossing it aside to reveal a lacy navy bra. His eyes fell onto her chest, as he was only a man. Hermione, seeing this, bit her stained bottom lip as she began to unfasten her jeans, eventually revealing a matching pair of lace panties. She stepped out of them as gracefully as possible, her ballet flats falling off easily in the process. She swallowed hard as she watched him take in the sight of her. She'd never felt so exposed, especially with her slightly swollen stomach on display (for someone other than herself) for the very first time.</p><p>The intensity with which he stared at her was unnerving, and then suddenly he was on her, kissing her hard and lifting her up. Her arms around his neck and her legs around his middle, she allowed herself to be carried to the bedroom, where he lowered her gently onto the bed. </p><p>His lips scorched her skin as they traveled down her body, and she gasped when they ghosted over her lace covered core. She looked up to find him standing before her, peeling off layers of clothes, which uncovered broad shoulders, solid pectoral muscles, and a rigid set of abs. She let out a whimper of a moan at the sight. And still he stripped, getting out of his trousers. His bulge was growing before her eyes. She wondered briefly if he'd hoped for this when planning his visit. She wouldn't bland him if he had.</p><p>Hermione sat up slightly and reached behind her carefully with one hand, fingers fumbling against the tricky little hooks on her bra. Finally it loosed, and she threw the article away from her as though it offended her. She thought she'd been watching him closely but she nearly missed the moment that he sprang free from his briefs. Her cunt clenched and unclenched with excitement, and she swore she could even feel a rush of fluid seeping out of her as well.</p><p>This was much better than rubbing herself raw thinking about Malfoy's dumb prefect tongue.</p><p>When he was fully undressed, he crawled up the bed until he was at her waist. Hermione’s breath caught as he grasped the waistband of her navy underwear, and she lifted her hips to help him as he slid them off of her. She lifted one foot free of the article, before spreading her legs for him to move between. He was kissing her again, and she moaned into his mouth when she felt the head of his erection pressing into her belly. She’d assume it’d be a turn-off, but he didn’t appear to care about her new shape. She let her upper legs fall back onto the mattress on either side of her, and rolled her upper body against him. She was eager to feel him inside of her.</p><p>Viktor didn’t make her wait long. His face was buried in her neck, teasing the sensitive skin with kisses and gentle sucking. It was so lovely and intimate that she relaxed with her head to the side, and a moment later she felt him stretching her wide as he sheathed himself within her. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his back as he began to move on top of her, rocking her body with his steady but deep thrusts.</p><p>It was passionate, and tender, and he'd brought her to climax twice before finishing himself, deep inside of her because they both knew there was no consequence. She couldn't get more pregnant. When it was over they laid together, her resting on his chest as they talked about matters of little importance. Eventually Viktor's hand came to rest on the swell of her stomach, drawing her attention to it as well.</p><p>"What is your plan?" He asked her, caring enough to be concerned, even though they likely wouldn't see each other again before the baby was born. They both lived very busy lives, and when the baby arrived he'd be deep into the quidditch season.</p><p>"I don't have one," Hermione confessed. "I've worked school out with the headmistress, of course. She's the only one I've told before you. When the time comes, I'll have the baby, and I'll choose someone else to take over as Head Girl. I'll sit my NEWTs early, and perhaps if I haven't died of shame by then I'll be able to graduate with the rest of my year." Graduation seemed so trivial in comparison to motherhood.</p><p>With his cheek rested against the top of her head, she couldn't see him frown. "And with the baby? Where will you go when it's born? Who is going to help you?" After a moment of silence, he realized she didn't have answers. "And the father… would he be helpful, if he knew?" He knew this question would see some resistance from her, but he had to ask it all the same.</p><p>"No," Hermione answered that one quickly. "He's cruel and arrogant and a complete narcissist. He used me for a good time, and I was foolish enough to let him." She shook her head. "I could never ask for his help and I'd never live down the embarrassment of telling him."</p><p>Krum couldn't fathom why she would sleep with someone who she would describe with such words, but then again, she had said she'd been drunk. He'd seen a lot of drunk girls make terrible choices. He always made it a point not to be one of them. "You'll think of something," he told her, having the sense that she wouldn't accept if he tried to offer her help himself. Not that he was any more sure what she should do than she seemed to be.</p><p>He stayed another hour or so, and when he was gone, the quiet and emptiness that filled her quarters in his absence weighed heavy in the air. Thankfully it was late, and she was able to go straight back to her bed. Another hour passed before a dreamless sleep potion was deemed necessary, and finally she was able to quiet her mind and let sleep take her.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
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</div>Since her birthday surprise, Hermione had made a point to spend more time with Ginny outside of class. It was challenging to keep the secret. If she weren't in a relationship with Harry and sister to Ron she might have trusted Ginny with the information, but the risk of it getting back to the boys was one she couldn't bear to face. September turned into October, and before she knew it the Prefects were stressing the importance of a morale booster; a dance. There hadn't been one since the Yule Ball four years ago, and those who'd been too young to attend then were now in high enough years to be admitted.<p>"A Halloween Masquerade," one of the sixth year Ravenclaw prefects declared during the first meeting of the month. "In place of the feast, we can have a dance. Halloween is on a Saturday this year, which is perfect because no one has to worry about class in the morning."</p><p>"The older students aren't going to want to party with the little kids. This is why the Yule Ball was fourth year and up. And I'm willing to bet that if it weren't for Potter the age restriction would have been higher." The Head Boy's words were harsh sounding, but logical. Hermione steeled herself for whatever confrontation was about to begin. "I say we go fifth year and up."</p><p>"But the feast!" A fifth year Hufflepuff spoke up. Draco turned on the girl with a raised brow, and she shrunk back a bit. "I just mean, if the Ball takes the place of the feast, what about the younger kids? It doesn't seem fair."</p><p>"And how would you solve this problem?" Draco posed thoughtfully. The Hufflepuff, feeling very put on the spot, tried to think quickly. </p><p>"A separate party," the Ravenclaw suggested. "A costume party, with games, and costumes, and of course food."</p><p>There was a general murmur of agreement. </p><p>"And who's going to supervise these younger students?" Hermione voiced her own concern. "If we're going to present the Headmistress with a proposal for not one, but two parties for that night, we can't very well suggest the burden be left to the professors. We're meant to be lightening their load, not building upon it."</p><p>The mood in the room dropped soberly. </p><p>"We will," a sixth year Gryffindor suggested. "We can take it in shifts. There's six Prefects per house. That's more than enough chaperones."</p><p>"Yeah," the Hufflepuff who suggested the younger party chimed in excitedly. "If the party runs six to ten, each house gets one hour of babysitting."</p><p>"That's very reasonable," Hermione agreed with a smile, as though she'd expected this conclusion all along. "I'll write up a proposal and present it to Headmistress McGonagall first thing tomorrow."</p><p>"We'll work on the proposal," Malfoy corrected pointedly. He wasn't a fan of being left out of things. "And present it to McGonagall, together"</p><p>Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose. "I just thought you'd be busy with quidditch," Hermione tried to sound reasonable, rather than like she was deliberately excluding him. Sometimes she wished he'd been less helpful. She'd never expected him to take his job so damn seriously.</p><p>"I'm not too busy for my responsibilities," Draco responded, and there was a challenge to his words. Hermione almost felt bad. She could tell he was determined to prove himself this year. </p><p>"Of course not," Hermione agreed. "So it's decided. We'll both work on it." Damn. Like that's what she needed right now, to be left alone with him, again.</p><p>As promised, Draco stayed after the meeting was dismissed. Hermione gathered some parchment, quills, and ink, and returned, after much hesitation, to the couch. She would have preferred to work at the kitchen table, but he appeared to have no intention of moving. It didn't bother her during the meetings to sit beside him on the couch. It made sense, it centered them in the room. He wouldn't try anything funny while there were so many others in the room. But now that they were alone…</p><p>Hermione pulled her hair over her shoulder, blocking her face from his view, or rather, his face from hers. She was dreading this. She knew, without a doubt, that he was going to do something to make her uncomfortable, and what's worse was that he'd be doing it on purpose. It was as though he had his sights set on her, specifically. Merlin, she wished he'd put his attention towards some other poor witch.</p><p>For a few moments he left her to work undisturbed. She summarized the events, where they might each take place, who might be responsible for supervising each respective party, decorations, cleanup, and so on. </p><p>"Clean-up crew?" She could feel him reading over her shoulder for several minutes now, but somehow his voice in the silence (save from the scraping of quill against parchment) still managed to make her jump.</p><p>"Yes, a clean-up crew," Hermione replied from behind the veil of her hair. "I know you were raised to believe that you should never have to lift a finger to pick up after yourself, but as the house elves already have one party to clean up after, I think it rude to assign them a second."</p><p>Draco chuckled quietly, but not quietly enough to not annoy her. "Right. Obviously I haven't the first idea how to clean up after myself." Not that he'd ever had an actual need to do so, but he was perfectly capable of it.</p><p>She had expected him to argue with her about it, and the fact that he wasn't doing so annoyed her greatly. He was being too compliant. "You don't have a problem with assembling a cleanup crew?"</p><p>"I mean I don't love the idea, but if the Prefects come complaining I'll have to send them your way." Draco, tired of talking to her hair, reached out and moved the curls behind her shoulder. </p><p>Hermione breathed out a slow angry sigh. She didn't really feel like dealing with angry Prefects this early in the year. She scratched out that point.</p><p>"Good thinking," Draco said, his tone patronizing.</p><p>"Alright, and what do you wish to add?" Hermione asked, agitated, and slid the draft across the table in his direction, placing her quill down. He had his own to use.</p><p>Draco took up the piece of paper and looked it over, as though he didn't already know what she'd written. After a few moments he said. "Well, we should probably mention something about whether or not students are permitted outside dates." His knowing tone caused Hermione to furore his brows.</p><p>"What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned defensively. </p><p>Draco smirked, because she'd taken the bait. "Well I could have sworn I heard the very distinct accent of a certain former Bulgarian lover," he taunted.</p><p>Hermione let out an annoyed huff. "Awfully bold of you to assume he was ever a lover. Unlike you I happened to make it through my fourth year fully intact." It was a full year later that she gave herself to him, not that Malfoy had any reason to be privy to that information.</p><p>"Really?" Draco challenged. "Well, his visit last month sure didn't sound quite as chaste." </p><p>Hermione's face reddened. "I don't know what you're talking about." She quickly turned away from him. "And even if I did it would be absolutely none of your business." </p><p>But Malfoy was relentless as usual, and continued on. "I remember when you made those sounds for me," he told her, moving one arm behind her on the couch as he leaned towards her. "In fact I think you made much more noise for me. He must not have snacked on your delicious little-"</p><p>Hermione's hand met his face with such force that it burned and tingled from the shock of it. Draco flinched only for the initial surprise, and was smirking again even as the red print began to form across his cheek. </p><p>"You're repulsive. I'll finish this myself. Please leave." Her hands balled into fists, and she could feel her fingernails digging into her palms. Draco removed his arm from behind her and leaned back, but did not rise to leave.</p><p>"Merlin, you really can not take a compliment," he criticized. </p><p>"A compliment?" Hermione scoffed, rising to move away from him since he seemed to think he didn't have to obey her request to vacate her dorm. "A compliment would be you understanding that I want absolutely no further reminder of that night." She could feel the pent up frustration beginning to boil, and while she wished she could stop herself, it all came spilling out. "It's bad enough that I have to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I was once so drunk that I thought it might be FUN to do something crazy with the first person who came my way. But by some morbid twist of fate that someone was YOU."</p><p>Draco sat on the couch staring up at her, and after a while he realized that each word was an attack. Each one on its own didn’t hurt so much, but when hitting him one right after the other, like tiny flying needles, he was starting to feel it. The hatred was radiating off of her, but she wasn’t finished. </p><p>“And then to make it even better, you make Head Boy?” The laugh she let out was humorless. “And now I get to spend the next nine months trying to ward off your unwanted advances, while the single greatest shame of my LIFE lives behind that door!” She pointed toward the pair of doors joining their dorms.</p><p>Draco stood now, unsure of whether or not her rant was finished, but not ready to endure anymore of her abuse. She took a step back, even though he didn’t approach. Whatever she’d been preparing to say next never came. “I don’t know who you hate more,” he told her, those steely gray eyes penetrating her. “Me, or yourself.” He made his exit then, far later than her initial request.</p><p>Hermione picked up a vase which sat on her end table, refilled daily with fresh flowers, and threw it hard against the door he’d just disappeared through, accompanying the breaking crystal with a lengthy, deep scream. Her knees gave way and she sank to the floor. She’d never cried so much as she had since that summer. She wasn’t sure if it was grief, the hormones, or just her circumstances. More likely it was all three. This time she refused to let her tears out. She was tired of crying over him. She retired to bed. She’d have to finish the proposal in the morning.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
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    <p>The next two weeks went by peacefully. Draco did not come with Hermione to present the Halloween ball/party proposal to the Headmistress. In fact he didn’t come around at all. For the first week it’d been like a vacation. She was free of the burden of him, of his constant comments, and looks, and attempts to get close to her. Free of the burden of having to avoid him, and having to keep her secret from him. The second week, however, she made a grave realization. He didn’t seem as though he’d simply taken the hint, because she didn’t think it would be very Malfoy of him to back down so quickly. He wasn’t simply leaving her alone, he was avoiding her. When they were obligated to be in each other's presence, he refused to meet her eye, and spoke to her only when it was absolutely necessary. She began to suspect she'd actually hurt him, which made no sense to her at all.</p><p>In fact, Hermione found this most inconvenient. Where did he get off being a victim? He was no victim, he was a crude, womanizing, sex obsessed prat! She was not the bad guy here! After two full weeks of being avoided, Hermione had had enough. She wrenched open her door and knocked hard on his behind it. </p><p>It was a moment or two before his door opened, and for what might have been the first time since her verbal assault, he looked at her.</p><p>"Can I help you?" Draco asked her, sounding like he'd rather be anywhere else on earth. She wondered vaguely if that was what she sounded like when he came knocking on her door. It was rather unpleasant.</p><p>"I need you to stop it," Hermione told him, trying to sound annoyed.</p><p>Draco crossed his arms over his chest, either a defensive stance, or because he was gearing up for another argument. Maybe both, she couldn't be sure. "You need me to stop what?" As far as he could tell he'd stopped doing all the things she complained about.</p><p>Hermione paused briefly. "Stop acting like a wounded dog," she answered. "I rejected you. Big deal. You'll live. There's no shortage of other girls for you to chase around this castle."</p><p>Draco scoffed, turned away from her for a moment, before returning his gaze to hers with clear annoyance. "First you want me to leave you alone, so I do, and now that's not what you want either? Make up your mind, Gr- No, you know what? Don't. You don't get to tell me how to act." He began stepping towards her, and for each step forward his long legs made she took two back with her short ones. "Just because you regret it now doesn't mean you get to treat me like I did something to you that you didn't damn well ask for. What you should be doing is thanking me for rocking your sad prude little world."</p><p>"I'm not a prude!" Hermione shrieked, and shoved his chest to push him back. It was pointless, he was much stronger than her, and also a mistake, she realized instantly, as his eyes went ablaze with rage. But it was too late to stop defending herself now. "Just because I haven't come crawling back to you for another roll doesn't mean I'm some sexless bookworm."</p><p>"Oh I know you're not sexless. I heard you and your superstar boy-toy together, remember? You know you don't have to go importing dick from Bulgaria. This one right here had you cumming all night." He gestured crudely to his own crotch.</p><p>"Viktor Krum has one thing you'll never have-"</p><p>"A micropenis?" Draco interrupted angrily, knowing very well that she was going to say something boring like "manners".</p><p>Hermione let out a loud short growl of frustration. "You are INFURIATING!"</p><p>"And you think you're so pleasant?" Draco asked her. “You’re so used to being treated like you’re bloody perfect that you’ve actually let yourself think you can treat people like-”</p><p>“Like they’re below me?” Hermione countered angrily. “Like you’ve treated me every day for the last seven years?”</p><p>They both glared, before Draco let slip a low growl and took one final step towards her. “Fuck it,” he declared as he moved, and kissed her so hard and so fast that she didn’t get the chance to stop him. The kiss was feral, and passionate, and when she bit his lip he growled again. She attempted to move away, but he reached out to grasp her narrow waist. His hands slipped between the opening in her school robes, but the narrow waist he’d known so many months ago was gone. There was so much more to her now. His lips broke from hers and pressed his forehead down on hers. She tried once more to get away from him but he held her firmly in place. </p><p>“Malfoy let me go,” she pleaded, panic rising in her as his hands landed so near her stomach. He could feel it, she was sure of it. His hands were right there. “Please let go of me.”</p><p>Draco did as she requested, but he grabbed the opening of her robes and ripped it down her arms, revealing the sweater and pants beneath. The sweater, which was loosely fitting on her small frame, stretched out over the swell of her stomach.</p><p>The silence between them was overwhelming.</p><p>“How long have you been...?” Draco asked after what felt like years. Hermione, stubborn as ever, looked away, wiggling her leg anxiously. She jumped when he repeated his question. “HOW LONG?”</p><p>“Nineteen weeks…” She answered in a small voice, not meeting his eye. There was another short silence while he did the math.</p><p>He looked her up and down. She was wearing flats, not her usual trainers. Her pants weren’t trousers as he’d assumed, but cheap stretchy yoga pants that flared out at the bottom. She was clearly dressed for comfort. “So either you had a very busy summer, or…” Hermione looked at him finally, and her gaze was venomous. “Right.” </p><p>A combination of emotions were rushing him, overwhelming him. He couldn’t decide between complete horror at the realization that he’d let this happen, and all-encompassing rage at the fact that she didn’t deem him worthy of such important information. “So you were just going to, what? Smuggle a baby, my baby, out of the castle without me ever knowing?”</p><p>“Basically.” The rage he showed seemed to match the shame she’d been experiencing for months. “I don’t really know.”</p><p>“You should have told me,” he told her angrily. “I had a right to know!”</p><p>“Yeah,” Hermione answered sarcastically. “Because you’re exactly the kind of man I want to raise a child with.” </p><p>Draco was beside himself. “That’s not your choice to make!” he argued.</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, which then rested slightly on her round stomach. “Of course it is. It’s my body and it’s my choice.”</p><p>“But it’s MY child,” Draco reminded her, growing louder. “And judging by your size I’d say there’s only one CHOICE left!”</p><p>Hermione’s mouth fell open briefly before she shut it and narrowed her eyes towards him. “See, this is why I didn’t tell you. I KNEW you would just want me to… to get rid of it, and I couldn’t do that. I’m not a baby-killer.”</p><p>“Oh, but hiding it from the world and pretending it doesn’t exist, that’s a foundation for a long and happy life,” he criticized. “Do you have any idea how SELFISH that is?”</p><p>“I wasn’t being SELFISH, I was-” What was she doing? What was her plan?</p><p>“You were ashamed.” She’d said it so many times. He was her great shame. No, getting pregnant was her great shame. “And every time you look at me all you can see is your mistake staring back at you.”</p><p>“Well I-” Now that he said it like that, Hermione felt like a right jerk. She shrank back a bit, a hand falling to rest on her stomach now that she was free to do so. She felt tears stinging at her eyes, and sat down in the chair he’d nearly cornered her into.</p><p>“Oh, what, now you’re going to cry?” Draco asked her, especially annoyed now because he knew that he couldn’t keep yelling at her if she was pregnant. He wouldn’t be the guy who makes the pregnant lady cry. </p><p>“No!” Hermione argued defiantly, blinking away the tears to the best of her ability.</p><p>“Fucking hell…” He stared at her for a long moment. “Who all knows?” This question was more gentle, defeated by the inescapable truth. There couldn’t be many people. It was a hard secret to keep, and she’d been keeping it for nearly five months.</p><p>“Not many,” Hermione said, and sniffed deeply, blinking free a couple of tears. “Aberforth, Professor McGonagall, Viktor…”</p><p>Draco raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?” He’d expected the list to be short, but just three people? What about her friends? Her support system? “McGonagall knows, and she still let you be Head Girl?”</p><p>Hermione shrugged. It hadn’t made sense to her either. “I offered to give up the position, but she said it wasn’t necessary. Truth be told I only came back for the dorm. She promised me privacy. And I need a place to stay until I can figure things out.”</p><p>Draco, still processing, attempted to wrap his head around all of this new information. “You didn’t have a place to stay? Did your parents throw you out?” That was a particularly difficult bit to digest. She didn’t answer, so he moved on. “Why aren’t your friends helping you? Potter, and Weasley? They’re always your knights in shining armor aren’t they?”</p><p>Hearing Malfoy talk about her parents, and about how valiant her two male best friends were just made her heart ache. "I don't presently have parents to throw me out. And I’m sure the boys would help me, if I could only manage to tell them.” She’d never felt less courageous than when she ran from the Burrow in the dead of night, betraying the love and kindness and generosity that the family had shown her. “But it's going to be the first thing they ask, isn't it? Who? And I can't very well tell them it was you. And I can't bring myself to lie to them, either, having to keep up that lie for the rest of my life… I can't do it."</p><p>“Yeah, self-preservation is a bitch, isn’t it?” He recalled clearly what that kind of fear could make a person do. "You can't avoid them forever. You're going to have to decide on a story soon." From the sight of her now, she didn't have long before people started to catch on, if they haven't already. He should have seen it sooner. He was with her quite a lot. The first thing he should have noticed was how big her breasts were becoming, and now that he did notice it was hard to look at anything else.</p><p>"And when I do," Hermione huffed out in irritation. "It'll be my story to tell. I mean it, Malfoy. This doesn't involve you any more than it already has."</p><p>"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Draco snapped back indignantly. </p><p>"It means," Hermione huffed again, feeling a little overwhelmed. "You're off the hook. Move along. There's nothing to see here. Just forget it ever happened!"</p><p>Draco glared at her. "So that's it? I'm off the hook. You don't need my help, or my money. You're going to do this entirely on your own?" </p><p>Hermione stared stubbornly back, already regretting it. She likely would need some assistance, financially, but if that came with association with Malfoy blood money, she didn't want it. "Alone, or with anyone but you, Draco. Now please leave. I'm tired." </p><p>Draco wanted to yell, and fight with her just for the sake of fighting, but why? He wasn't ready for a child right now. He certainly didn't want one with her, either. She was giving him a pass, and he'd be damned if he passed up that get-out-of-jail free card. "Fine. But don't come crying to me in four months when you've got a baby you don't know how to explain." If she didn't want his help, she wasn't getting any. If she didn't want to claim this child as the Malfoy heir, he wouldn't claim it either. Saves him the burden of being disowned by the Malfoys and Blacks alike, not that there were any living Blacks to do so.</p><p>Draco turned and stormed out of the room just in time to see a teardrop make it past Hermione's attempts to hold it back. His door slammed shut, making her jump, and a couple extra tears sprang forth. She wiped them away angrily. She wouldn't cry again this time. Not over him.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
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</div>After Malfoy learned about the secret Hermione had been keeping from him since their foolish tryst back in June, the relationship between the two Head students reverted back to their old ways of insults, bickering, and dirty looks. Hermione wanted nothing to do with the Slytherin who did this to her, but it further infuriated her that he'd taken the offered out. He didn't care about her, or the child forming inside of her. She had thought, for a moment, that he would, but she was wrong. He hadn't made any further comment about her current condition. She could only be grateful that he was leaving her alone, and that from what she could tell he hadn't told anyone. He was probably just as ashamed of her as she was of him. He'd committed a horrible crime against his family, after all. He'd dirtied their bloodline. She couldn't subject her child to that kind of resentment. She wouldn't.<p>At last it was Halloween, and Hermione was more than halfway through her pregnancy, and had grown to an extent that was difficult to hide on her own. She was using a number of healer approved spells and potions to keep her symptoms from interfering in her school work, and to disguise the changes to her body. She managed to find a beautiful navy blue gown that she could charm to disguise her stomach, and went through the rare but worthwhile effort of doing her hair and makeup. She wouldn't be able to feel beautiful like this again for a long time, and she wanted to make it last, if only for tonight. She spent hours making sure her hair was perfect, and when her makeup was at last perfectly applied, she used a protection spell over the look.</p><p>Several hours before the ball she informed Malfoy that she was too ill to attend. He, at least, didn’t need any further explanation. It was the one nice thing about him knowing, that she no longer had to hide it from him, of all people. She made sure to not be seen by anyone until she made her appearance at the masquerade ball the Prefects had labored over for the last fortnight. She didn't want people to recognize her. This was going to be her last chance to feel like, well, a teenager. Soon she was going to be too big to feel young and sexy and free like all these other girls. It was a last hoorah to her youth. She wanted to spend it anonymously, without the preconceived expectations that came with being Head Girl, much less Hermione Granger. </p><p>The dance got underway and to her relief no one seemed to suspect her identity. There were instead stares and speculative whispers as people tried to guess who was under the mask. Perhaps the sparkling effect of her dress was too much, shining like sapphires as she moved. It drew too much attention. She kept to herself mostly, amused that no one recognized her with her hair and makeup don. The dress had an empire waist, a beaded belt separating her bust from the flowing skirt beneath, with a tall slit on both ends gave her freedom of movement. At one point she was asked to dance by a gentleman she suspected (based off his voice and eyes) to be a seventh year Ravenclaw she vaguely knew. She accepted, and he charmed her on the dance floor, and then off of it as well.</p><p>Perhaps it was the hormones, or maybe just her determination to enjoy the evening, but something much more powerful than him had her back pressed against the wall of an empty corridor, enjoying a rather throughout but otherwise harmless snog. Merlin, she needed this, but he was growing handsy, and she knew she'd need to put a stop to it sooner or later, before he got the impression she was going to let him take it any further. She broke her lips from him with a heavy pant. </p><p>"Lovely as this is," she said breathlessly. "I think I ought to be going."</p><p>He chuckled in response. "Oh, you're not one of those girls, are you?" he questioned, and Hermione suspected he was emboldened by his mask. "The kind who gets a bloke all worked up, and then walks away, just for her own amusement."</p><p>Oh, so he was one of those blokes, was he? "You mean like the way you're over here running your hands all over me for your own amusement?" she countered with a smirk. </p><p>He chuckled anew and placed his hands on the wall on either side of her, boxing her in, much like Malfoy had done on the train. "Come on, do we have to waste our time with this little dance? The one where you pretend like you've never done this before, and I pretend to believe you?"</p><p>Amusement left Hermione in an instant. "Agreeing to snog is not an agreement to anything more," she told him crossly. "If you thought otherwise you were mistaken."</p><p>"I like a girl who plays hard to get," he told her, leaning in to kiss her once more, but Hermione was no longer feeling frisky. She shoved him away from her.</p><p>"You're disgusting." She began to storm away, but he caught her around the wrist. As she was pulled back to him, she brought her other hand around and slapped him, hard enough to knock the mask off his face. She took in the sight of him. He was exactly who she’d thought. He’d been a prefect in his fifth year, while she was in sixth, but strangely wasn’t one now. "And now I know who to report if you don't unhand me this instant."</p><p>The Ravenclaw, who behaved unlike anything she could have expected, placed a hand on his smarting cheek. "You little cock tease!" he accused angrily. His grip on her thin wrist tightened painfully.</p><p>"As if any witch in her right mind would have any interest in your cock," Hermione taunted, trying to shake her hand free from his hold. It was really starting to hurt.</p><p>"What's going on out here!?" The head boy's booming voice startled her for a moment, but for once in her life she was actually glad to see him. </p><p>"Oh good, the Head Boy is here. Now I can tell him all about your version of consent." She ripped her arm out of his brutish grasp, grateful for the distraction loosening his grip. </p><p>Draco, who looked as dashing as ever in all black dress robes and a silver necktie, looked at the Ravenclaw coldly as he assessed the scene in front of him. "Twenty points from Ravenclaw," he declared with no further questioning.</p><p>"What?! That's bullshit. She hit me!"</p><p>The handprint on his face proved it, but the bruise forming around the girl's wrist told a darker story. Draco shrugged. "If you want me to inquire as to why, I can do that, but I have a feeling that if I do I'll decide twenty isn't enough." </p><p>Hermione couldn't help but feel smug. In fact, she was rather impressed, seeing how Malfoy handled the situation, especially as someone with a reputation, himself, for womanizing.  </p><p>“Whatever,” the younger student growled, and made to head back to the great hall, but Draco stepped in front of him, blocking the path.</p><p>“No, I think your night is over. Get back to your common room. It’s nearly curfew and your dance privileges are hereby revoked.” The last thing he needed was to find out this prick went back to the ball and tried the same crap with another girl.</p><p>“Oh fuck off, Malfoy. You can’t tell me what to do, bloody death eater scum,” he spat at Draco, looking up at him with a scowl.</p><p>Hermione recognized the moment that Draco switched from mild irritation to rage. His silver eyes turned to dark steel. She thought quickly. “Don’t listen to him, Malfoy,” she said in a sweet tone she hoped he wouldn’t recognize. She’d certainly never used it on him before. “He’s just bitter he didn’t make Head Boy himself.” In a last-second effort to further defuse the situation, she reached out and grabbed his arm with both hands to pull his focus to herself, a move she’d witnessed the clingiest of girls make when in desperate need of male attention. Luckily, it worked.</p><p>Draco stared down at the masked witch with a raised brow. She’d done an excellent job of masking herself. The only parts of her face visible were her chestnut eyes, haloed in thick black lashes, and her burgundy painted lips. The dress she wore was stunning, accentuating her narrow frame, curves and all. Whoever she was, she was the kind of girl he'd be very interested in taking to bed. </p><p>Frustrated with being dismissed so quickly, the now identified Stuart Crowley stalked away, muttering profanities to himself. Hermione kept her attention on Malfoy. He was looking at her the way he did at the start of the year, like she was something to eat. It was then that she remembered that he didn't know who she was, and that if she was going to have another opportunity to experience the slytherin devil again, as her body craved and her dreams constantly taunted her, it was now or never. "My hero," she purred, smirking playfully up at him. </p><p>Merlin, she seemed so familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He knew those eyes, but from where? Pushing that thought aside, he tried not to get distracted. He had a beautiful witch holding onto him, eye-fucking him, and he'd be damned if he didn't try. "Well, can't have wizards like that making the rest of us look bad," he told her.</p><p>Oh Lord, this man was easy. Hermione released her hold on his arm, instead placing her hands on his hard chest. "How can I ever repay you?" She looked down at his chest, tracing figures on his robes with a silver painted fingernail, before gazing up at him again through her lashes. </p><p>Draco looked down at the nail, watching it move for a moment, before looking back up at her honey eyes. "Well, I don't think I'll be missed at the dance this late, and I happen to know of a classroom in this corridor that isn't being used this year," Draco informed her. "If you wanted to thank me in private."</p><p>What the hell was she doing? This was how she'd gotten herself into this mess in the first place! Only this time instead of a room at the Leaky Cauldron, they occupied a dusty dark classroom. She had to be careful this time. The glamour charms she used to hide her bump were only optical illusions. If he touched her, or pressed his body flush to hers, he'd feel it in an instant. She kissed him hard from where she sat on the teacher’s desk, her legs spread with him standing between them. The front of her dress had been bunched up and tossed over her left side, providing easy access to her soaked knickers. She moaned as his fingers discovered the moisture, and slipped beneath the thin material of lace thong. Her body squirming in anticipation, and she had to remind herself to keep distance between their fronts. With a groan of frustration she broke her lips from his. "I'm ready, don't wait," she urged, wanting him to get on with it already.</p><p>Draco didn't mean to laugh, but he almost couldn't help himself. Usually a girl liked a little foreplay, but she seemed to be in no need. He wouldn't argue with that, and before he could even reach for his belt her hands were there, making quick work of the buckle. Seconds later he felt her soft hand grasp him, stroking him and teasing the very tip of his cock with her thumb. "Fuck!" Draco groaned, and captured her lips once more as he took custody of his shaft from her eager hand. </p><p>It was only Hermione's fourth time having sex, and only the third time doing it sober, but she didn't see the sense in hesitating. Her body needed this badly, and after tonight she'd be too large to let a man touch her. It was hard enough keeping her figure hidden already. She wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, kissing him desperately as she felt him tugging her thong to one side, and then the head of his cock teased the crease of her lips. “Oh yes, do it now,” she whispered against his lips, and resumed the passion of lips and tongues in battle.</p><p>Her soaking wet pussy swallowed his length greedily, and he felt her scoot closer to the edge of the desk she sat upon. Draco hooked her legs onto his arms, one at a time, and she laid back across the desk. The result was that as he slammed into her with one harsh thrust, her breasts jiggled on her chest, threatening to break free from her gown, which only barely held the full mounds in to begin with. He held onto the edge of the desk behind her, leaning into her slightly as he began a quick rhythm into her zealous body.</p><p>Hermione could feel the wind being knocked out of her with each thrust, and with each one a progressively enthusiastic moan escaped her as well. The difference between making love and being fucked was very clear, and she hated to think she might actually prefer the latter. Oh how she would miss it when it was over, but for now she savored every slap of skin on skin, every groan and grunt, even the way her breasts shook violently in the bodice of her gown, eventually popping free of the cups that could not contain them in this vertical state. </p><p>"Yes, harder!" She begged, thanking Merlin for the mask that hid her true identity, and still making a conscious effort not to sound like herself. She could never be so free to express her pleasure if she thought he could know it was really her. Luckily he didn't seem to be any the wiser, because if he did know, he wouldn’t have the decency to pretend otherwise. And she was experiencing more pleasure than she knew now to express. She could feel every inch of him in vivid detail, gliding in and out of her with ease. He heeded her request, slammed into her limit at such a rapid pace that it was dizzying. </p><p>Draco didn't know how much longer he could keep up this pace. His arms burned with the strain of holding her legs back. But her dripping wet cunt gripped him so wonderfully, he didn't want it to end either. He lowered her legs one at a time, relief instantly washing over him as his arms were free of their burden. He rolled his shoulders to loosen up his muscles. Looking down at the witch with a smirk, he leaned in again and captured one of her escaped breasts in his mouth, nipping at the hardened nipple playfully, before sucking it into his mouth.</p><p>Hermione cried out in surprise, the sensitivity of her breasts making the otherwise simple gesture more intense than she could have ever expected. "Oh gods yes! Oh!" She recognized the feeling this time, the orgasm throwing her over like a rough tide, wave after wave, stealing her breath. Her mouth opened in exclamation but no sound came out. Her walls clenched, toes curled and arches cramped, and still he continued his assault, groaning as well for the way she gripped him. </p><p>"Fucking hell," he grunted, releasing the tit from his mouth and moving to the other. He noticed there a constellation of freckles, just around her collar bone. The unique feature caught his attention, and he peppered wet kisses over the tiny dots before treating that breast to the same attention as its twin.</p><p>Draco didn't let up until her body took him down with her. At the last possible moment he withdrew, not wanting to land himself in another situation like the one he found himself in with Granger. He stroked himself vigorously, wishing to still be buried in her heat, before spilling out onto his hand and the desk between her legs. </p><p>Hermione whimpered at the loss of him. She hadn't wanted it to end yet, but she supposed it was for the best. How much longer could she risk him touching her somewhere she'd rather him not? What if he pushed her dress up? Or wanted to bend her in a way her stomach would not permit? No, it was better it was over, and now she had the memory to hold onto the next time she needed to take care of her own need. She pushed herself up slowly, and forced her plump tits back into her dress. </p><p>Draco, too, was fixing up his clothes, coming down from the high that a good shag always gave him. He looked up to see the mystery witch adjusting her thong and dress. "I don't suppose you're going to let me get a look under that mask," Draco said knowingly, but also hopefully. He wouldn't mind giving her cunt another go. Maybe next time he could taste it, too, but first he'd have to know who she was. </p><p>Hermione slid off the desk onto her feet, and retrieved the one high heel that'd been displaced by his rough movement. She stood in one foot while holding onto the desk to put it back on. At his question, she smirked, stepped forward, and leaned in as if to kiss him again. Lips hovering just over the corner of his ear, she whispered, "You wish."</p>
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          <p>Hahaha! The Dramione smut you've all been waiting for! It has arrived! Hormone driven Hermione decides to let her freak flag fly for one last night before closing up shop for the remainder of her pregnancy.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
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</div>Letting Draco have his way with her that night had seemed like a good idea in the heat of the moment, but now she wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t worried that he would figure out who she was. How could he? But she was worried that she was letting her hormones lead her into making foolish choices. Perhaps making love to Viktor hadn’t been foolish, but snogging that Ravenclaw? Letting Draco so carelessly fuck her in a dusty old classroom? One right after the other? It was exactly the kind of behavior she would have shamed another girl for. It was only right that she herself should feel ashamed.<p>She did her best to avoid Draco in the days after, but as it turned out, her excuse of not feeling well enough to attend the dance had become a very real need for rest and recovery, which made avoiding him as simple as spending the next two days in bed. Monday she was forced to miss her classes, remaining curled up in bed with a high fever and only her cat for comfort. She was very surprised when somewhere around noon she heard a knock at her door. Hermione rolled over and groaned. She didn’t have the energy to go and open in, instead pointing her wand vaguely in that direction and charmed it open. </p><p>Draco liked to think that he didn’t care about Hermione or the baby forming in her womb, but when she proved ill for the third day in a row, the Head Boy couldn’t help but feel concern. Just because he didn’t want her or her kid didn’t mean he wished any harm to come to them. He decided to pay her a visit during lunch, delivering a pepper-up potion, a bowl of chicken soup, and some crackers. </p><p>He entered her bedroom after a couple knocks on the open door. “How’re you feeling?” he asked in as neutral a tone he could manage.</p><p>Hermione looked up at him in surprise. It hadn’t occurred to her that it might be Draco. He’d never come to her front door before. She was even more surprised, still, to see the tray he carried with him. “What are you doing here?” she asked dumbly. In her defense, the fever was making it hard for her to think too clearly. </p><p>She became suddenly aware that she probably looked a mess. She was wearing just a thin crushed velvet nightgown because she was hot, but was buried under the covers because of the chills. Her hair hadn’t been tended to since her shower the day before, and she wore not a speck of makeup. She pulled the scrunchie off her wrist and began tugging her curls into a messy bun, attempting to bring some order to it.</p><p>Draco set the tray down on the bed beside her. “It’s not like you to miss classes, and…”</p><p>“And what?” Hermione pressed him. She pushed herself into a sitting position and lowered the blanket to her lap.</p><p>Draco gave Hermione an impatient look. “I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. Both of you…” Now that he was here he felt stupid. He didn’t want her to read too much into it.</p><p>“I’m surprised you care,” she criticized, before coughing into the bend of her arm.  </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes. “Me too,” he admitted. “I just wanted to bring you some lunch, make sure you’re not dying.”</p><p>“Well don’t worry,” Hermione said, and coughed again. She leaned back against her headboard, her head feeling heavy. “I’m fine.”</p><p>“Yeah, you look it,” Draco responded sarcastically. “You should have gone to hospital.” He picked up the pepper-up potion. “Here, take this.”</p><p>Hermione let out an annoyed groan, but her eyes had fallen shut, lacking the energy to hold them open. “What’s that?” she asked at the vial she was no longer looking at. “Poison so that you can finish me off?”</p><p>Draco unstoppered the potion. “It’s pepper-up, you drama queen. The last thing I need on my record is a double-homicide.” He brought the vial up to her lips, and when she felt it there her eyes flew open in surprise. Her fingers closed around it quickly, taking it from him. Draco withdrew, surrendering the small bottle to her, and watched as she drank down the contents. That was when he noticed that despite her disheveled appearance, her fingernails shimmered in a bold glittery silver.</p><p>It was coincidence, of course. It had to be. There was no way that she had been the mystery witch from Halloween. He would have noticed if the witch he'd shagged had been five months pregnant! It was a coincidence. Hermione hadn't even come to the dance, she’d been right here, sick. Or at least, so she’d claimed.</p><p>"Well," Draco said, moving away from her. "Pomfrey says there's a bug going around, so you should probably just sit tight for a couple of days."</p><p>Hermione did instantly feel significantly better after taking the potion. "You spoke to Pomfrey about me?" she asked, surprised.</p><p>"Well yeah," Draco said. "You said she knew, and I thought you could use the potion…"</p><p>Hermione adjusted the blanket on her lap. Her stomach stood out boldly now, her nightgown stretching over it with great duress. "That was incredibly considerate of you."</p><p>Draco felt the need to keep himself hardened. She'd pushed him away. She'd insisted on going through this alone. "Yes well I could have been much more considerate leading up to now if I'd have been allowed." He wouldn't hide his bitterness toward her choice in keeping their child a secret from him. </p><p>"I understand," Hermione answered after a moment. She brought the soup toward her and took a sip of the broth. "What's done is done now." She wasn't going to take her choice back now. He didn't appear to be asking her to, either. Even if he had asked, she didn't know that she could bend. If she let him take a role in this child's life, in her life, she may as well just confess to the world that she'd shagged him. </p><p>"That's it?" He didn't know why he was so annoyed. "Thanks for the soup, but it changes nothing?" Draco mocked. </p><p>Hermione didn't look at him as he scolded her. She knew she wasn't exactly being fair to him, but it was too late now, wasn't it? "What do you want, Malfoy? You and I have too much history to have a future. You said yourself you didn't want this child."</p><p>"I said no such thing. You assumed! Just like you assumed that I couldn't possibly care about you. Just like you assumed that I'd ask you to get rid of it!" Draco was growing angry now.</p><p>"But you said-" Hermione rebutted quickly, but was interrupted. </p><p>"I said that there were no choices left. I never said which I preferred!" </p><p>Hermione winced as he raised his voice again, her head still hurting. "It was implied…"</p><p>"That's bullshit." Draco glared at her. "You know-" he pointed his finger at her. "You didn't think I was such a jerk that night. You didn't have any problem drinking and dancing and chatting the night away with the birthday boy."</p><p>"Stop it…" Hermione could feel anger boiling in her chest, converting into anxiety the more he spoke. </p><p>"You thought I was funny, and charming, and sexy. You kissed ME!" She didn't want to talk about that night? Too bloody bad.</p><p>"Yeah well it's easy to be funny and charming when there's galleons on the line, isn't it!?" Hermione finally snapped.</p><p>"What-"</p><p>"And I fell for it! Hook line and sinker. But it was just a game, wasn't it?" Hermione was seething, and the memory of hearing his friends joking about it as she exited the pub that following morning brought tears to burn her eyes.</p><p>"How do you know about that?" Draco himself had all but forgotten about that bet. </p><p>Hermione didn't answer, but instead continued her rant, though it provided an answer all the same. "They were all laughing about it! I was humiliated! I actually let myself believe for one moment that you were actually a halfway decent person. That you weren't capable of doing something so awful! But at least you won!" By the time she stopped she was crying again. "These fucking hormones!" She screamed and wiped the tears away angrily. </p><p>Under any other circumstance he might have laughed, but he was sure that if he did now she'd curse him within an inch of his life. She heard his friends talking about the bet? No wonder she'd been so upset with him these last two months. "I didn't- I never collected on that bet. It was just a-" Draco sighed. "I didn't sleep with you for the bet."</p><p>"Oh I'm sure!" Hermione growled, reaching for the tissues, which were already at her side.</p><p>He didn't blame her for not believing him. Thinking back on it now, it was an awful thing to do, to any girl. He hadn't actually taken her feelings into account when the bet was placed. It hadn't even been his idea. He certainly never expected her to find out. "Fuck…" Draco groaned. He had no tolerance for women crying. Not the crocodile tears that the Slytherin girls used to manipulate their boyfriends and their daddies, but the real stuff, he couldn't stand it. It weakened him. "Don't cry…" he pleaded.</p><p>"Screw you," Hermione snapped, the sound slightly muffled as she wiped her nose. "This is all your fault. Your stupid bet, and your stupid sperm…" she threw her used tissue angrily at the trash bin beside her bed. She missed. </p><p>Draco couldn't help but chuckle at her use of the word "sperm", but regretted it instantly for the glare he received from her. </p><p>"This isn't funny!" She yelled at him indignantly. "If I'd have realized you hadn't had the good sense to use a contraception charm I could have been more prepared to take secondary precautions! I assumed a guy with your kind of experience would know better, but apparently not!" Hot angry tears streamed down her face, causing her to choke on the last couple of words.</p><p>It occurred to Draco that she'd been preparing this speech for a long time. He frowned, ashamed. "You're right," he admitted. "I should have known better. I did know better. I'm sorry." The words were painful to get out, but she deserved to hear it. In an attempt to reclaim his dignity, Draco had some points of his own to make. "Bet or no bet, you should have told me. You should have told me when you found out. I would have-"</p><p>"You would have what?" Hermione asked scathingly. Her tone was an obvious warning for him to choose his next words carefully. </p><p>Draco took a moment to do just that. Finally he offered the best, most honest answer he could think of on the spot. "I would have helped you come up with a plan." It offered no promises of what that plan may have been, but he could have at least helped her develop one, even if that plan didn't necessarily involve him. "You're alone in this because you made it that way."</p><p>The two stared at each other for a long moment, each silently daring the other to create an argument first. It infuriated Hermione that he was right, but she couldn't have known it then. She couldn't have known if he would have been helpful. She couldn't have known he wouldn't have laughed at her, turned her away, denied his involvement and responsibility. </p><p>"So what are you saying?" Hermione broke the silence after a long couple of minutes. "You actually want to have this baby with me?" He was certainly putting up a hell of a fuss if not.</p><p>"Want is a strong word," Draco answered honestly. "But it's my child. I'm entitled to a say."</p><p>"Entitled. Funny, that's exactly the word I'd use to describe you," Hermione quipped without missing a beat.</p><p>Draco narrowed his eyes at her, but let that one pass. She wasn't wrong. "I just mean that whether I want it or not, I'm a part of this. You can't just decide otherwise. It’s not just your baby. It’s our baby."</p><p>“She,” Hermione corrected him as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him, not liking how much of a point he had. “She’s not an it. She’s a girl.”</p><p>“A girl?” Draco sat on the edge of the bed, earning him a dirty look from Hermione as she pulled her legs away. He didn’t notice. “We’re having a girl?”</p><p>“I’m having a girl,” Hermione corrected irritably. “Whether you have any claim over her is yet to be determined.” She looked sideways over at him.</p><p>Draco rolled his eyes. “Whether or not I claim her is for me to determine,” he stated firmly. </p><p>“And will you? Claim her?” she challenged. It was big talk, but she still had a hard time believing he had any intention of being a part of her and her baby’s lives. </p><p>“What if I did?” Draco challenged back. It was a genuine question. The truth was he had no idea if this was something he wanted or not. He’d only had two weeks to adjust to the idea, and they hadn’t exactly taken the time to talk it out.</p><p>Could he really consider it? Could he tell his parents that their first and possibly only grandchild was a half-blood? Could he strip his family of the blood status they so desperately clung to? He could very well be disowned, stricken from the family tree like so many other blood traitors before him. What good would he be to his daughter then? What, then, would he have to offer as a father? But the alternative was to be a dead-beat, to disown her before she’s even born, to enact on her the very disownment he sought to avoid. He’d be a hypocrite. A selfish hypocrite.</p><p>Hermione could see his gears turning. Bloody hell, he was actually considering it wasn’t he? She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or bad. Sure, she didn’t want to do this thing alone, the very thought… But to do it with him? To come out to the world as parents, together? Was there a way around it? Could he be there for her and their baby without the whole world knowing? He could be a financial support perhaps. With visitation on special occasions. It’s not like he’d want to raise her, right?</p><p>The two made eye contact after a long silence, and Hermione realized that his question hadn’t been rhetorical. He was actually asking. What was she supposed to answer? “This isn’t something you can decide on lightly. We’re talking about another person’s life. You can’t tell me you want to be involved now and then a few years from now decide to get married and start your real family. This is a lifelong commitment.” Perhaps if she emphasized the burden, the commitment, he’d back off.</p><p>“You think I’m taking this lightly?” Draco snapped, offended. “You think I haven’t thought about this every waking moment since the night I found out? You think I’m not losing sleep thinking that you’re never going to let me know my own kid? That you’re going to raise it- her, with Weasley or Krum or some other bloke you deem more worthy than me?” He hadn’t realized he’d been holding all that in.</p><p>Hermione opened her mouth to say that that was exactly what she thought, but she realized just in time that that would be cruel. She frowned. He was actually confiding his fears to her, and the least she could do was reciprocate. “Do you think I’m not scared that if I let you get anywhere near me or my child we’ll wind up hurt and alone?” It wasn’t an accusation as much as a confession, similar to his own. “I’m absolutely terrified… This whole thing has me paralized with fear. Where am I going to live? How am I going to make money? How do I work and take care of her at the same time? What do I tell people? What if I never find my parents? What if she has special needs? What if your parents find out? What if-”</p><p>She was spiraling, and Draco’s eyes widened in horror. He grabbed Hermione’s shoulders to make her look at him. “Granger, snap out of it!” She looked up at him, her honey eyes meeting his steel ones, and tears sprang forth. For lack of a better solution, Draco put his arms around her, pulling her in to hold her tightly. “You’re going to be fine,” he insisted, hoping to reassure her. “You’re Hermione bloody Granger. A little baby will not be your undoing.” If anything it would be his...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yall, I legit almost forgot to post this HAHAHA. I mean it's been written for a while now but I just realized, duh, its WEDNESDAY! Hope you enjoyed this, er, breakthrough?</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
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</div>Quidditch. It was all Harry, Ron, Ginny and George had to talk about for the last week or so. She’d never cared much for the sport, and for five of her six years at Hogwarts she suffered her way through the obligation of cheering in the stands. Of course she wanted to see her friends succeed, but the scrimach game they’d been planning held no appeal whatsoever. She was happy they’d come up with something to distract them from all of the grief and tragedy they’d all experienced, she just didn’t wish to participate. So, on the first Friday of June while her friends were gathered in the field near the Weasleys’ home with about a dozen others, Hermione headed into London for some alone time. She did some shopping, paid a visit to the Magical Menagerie to offer some attention to the orphaned animals that were now there waiting for new homes, and then ended her night at the Leaky Cauldron, where she posted up at the bar with an apple martini.<p>It was nice, being by herself. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d actually been alone. If she wasn’t in school she was home with her family, or with the Weasleys, or even just with Harry, but she was never alone. She’d thought it might depress her, but it was actually quite calming. It was getting late by the time Hermione had finished her second drink, and yet, she was feeling pretty good, so she ordered a third.</p><p>The Leaky Cauldron was the third of the five pubs scheduled for that night’s birthday pub crawl. It was Draco Malfoy’s eighteenth birthday, and he and four others of his closest (remaining) friends were drunker than they were willing to admit when they stumbled into the tavern. They were singing and laughing and making a rather big show of their arrival, so much so that Hermione was forced to turn and see what the spectacle was all about.</p><p>“Ugh,” Hermione groaned, turning her back to the bar with her drink in hand. They were sliding into a booth in the back of the dining room, two on each side, with the fifth straddling a backwards chair on the end. Draco was on the outside of his bench seat, adjusting the plastic crown on his head. "A crown, honestly…" She muttered around the rim of her glass, taking a sip. </p><p>A moment later the group of lads had rather boisterously demanded a round of drinks, to which a randy verse of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” was toasted. </p><p>"Jolly" and "good" were not words Hermione would use to describe Draco Malfoy, but she pondered that the other young wizards he sat with must have a very different relationship with him indeed. It was a strange thing to think about, that his friendships with his fellow Slytherins could be anything like her relationships with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and even Neville. There was such a simplicity to it all of a sudden. Just kids, celebrating a birthday, like it was meant to be. Like they hadn't just lost so many lives in such a tragic war.</p><p>Hermione pondered, and she sipped, and she pondered some more, until she became aware of two things. One, her drink was once again empty, and two, the Slytherin party-goers had now spotted her. Hermione's eyes went wide, and she swivelled around on her barstool. But she knew it was too late, they'd seen her, and they'd pointed her out to the prince of the night. </p><p>"Another please, Tom?" Hermione requested of the barkeep. She'd been seated stationary for so long that it hadn't occurred to her that she should have cut herself off right about then. </p><p>Draco turned at the mention of his favorite Gryffindor, or was she his least favorite? At that moment he couldn't remember, but he did spot her, sitting at the bar with her legs crossed tightly. Her short denim skirt did little to hide her legs, or what was between them for that matter, but her thighs clamped together did the work instead. Her espadril clad foot bounced rhythmically, stopping suddenly when she knew she'd been caught staring. She turned away from him, but he rose from his seat. It was his night, and right that moment he wanted to talk to the young tipsy witch who was quite mistaken to be caught alone at such an hour.</p><p>His friends jeered and laughed and made inappropriate suggestions as he left the table, making his way straight to the bar. He slid in between her stool and the empty one beside her. "Now just what is a witch like you doing in a place like this wearing as little as that?" He greeted her with a smirk.</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, playing with the stem of her martini glass as she waited for a new one, but his tone made her blush for reasons she'd rather not consider. "Dressed like what? Like it's nearly thirty degrees outside? The scandal!" she said dramatically, chancing him a sideways glance before returning her eyes to the empty glass. The way he was looking at her made her face heat up. </p><p>"But it's not thirty degrees in here," Draco pointed out. "You must be freezing." He placed one of his hands on her thigh, and it was indeed a bit chilly, from what he could tell before she slapped his hand away.</p><p>"Careful, Malfoy. I'm filthy, remember?" Sure, it'd been many years since he'd called her such a name, but it still stuck out in her mind on occasion. </p><p>Draco smirked at Hermione as she received her new drink. "Well I can only hope."</p><p>Hermione blushed furiously at such a suggestion. "I'm quite sure that's none of your business," she said boldly, sitting up a bit straighter as she sipped her cocktail. </p><p>"And just whose business might that be?" Draco inquired, finishing off his drink and setting his glass down on the bar. He nodded to the barkeep for another. "Potter's? Weasley's? Which one of them gets to see your dirty side, Granger?" He inquired teasingly rather than taunted. </p><p>Hermione pretended to be searching the room. "I don't see either of them here, do you?" She offered a smirk to rival one of his own. The gin in her drink was making her unusually playful. "I happen to be a perfectly free agent. But again, that's none of your business."</p><p>"Alright," Draco conceded. "Fair enough. But perhaps, since you're so perfectly unattached at the moment, you wouldn't mind sharing a drink?" A new pint slid across the bar and he reached for it. Draco set down enough coin to cover both of their drinks. "The least you can do is let me buy a round."</p><p>"I'm perfectly capable of purchasing my own drink," Hermione argued, but made no move to return his money. "Why are you being so… friendly?" she asked him suspiciously, as though being friendly was a bad thing.</p><p>"Well you haven't punched me in the face yet so I figure I'm off to a good start. Why ruin it now?"</p><p>Draco grinned at her, a cocky, playful grin. She'd never seen it on him, not directed at her certainly. It made her stomach flutter. Merlin, was this how he charmed his way into skirts? Sure, he wasn't the biggest playboy in school, but he got around from what she understood. Who has time for monogamy when serving the Dark Lord? Hermione bit her lip, and when she realized she'd drawn his eyes towards her mouth released it quickly.</p><p>Hermione looked away from him, examining the bottles of liquor lining the wall as if with great interest. "Yes well you've only been mildly foul and barely loathsome thus far," she answered finally without looking at him. She chanced another glance out of the corner of her eye in his direction. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your party?"</p><p>Draco chuckled at her sudden remembering of her dislike for him. "Yes, well I could, but they don't look nearly as cute in a skirt, which would make asking them to dance very awkward."</p><p>Hermione nearly spit out her drink. "Dance?" She looked around. There was no one dancing. No dance floor. Not even any music! She returned her attention to him. His smug grin was once again causing nervous flutters. "Do you see anyone dancing? No. You know why? Because this isn't a dance club."</p><p>"Ah," Draco agreed upon looking around for himself. "So it seems. Well then I suppose we'll just have to go somewhere with dancing then," he offered as a simple solution.</p><p>Hermione looked away again, letting out a single laugh as she shook her head, eyes rolling. "Right. I'm just going to let you take me to some dimly lit location I'm unfamiliar with, alone." Highly unlikely.</p><p>Draco moved to the other side of her stool, leaning in front of her to gain her eye contact. "What's that? Are you afraid to be alone with me?" He laughed. "What happened to that bravery you Gryffindors are always bragging about?"</p><p>Hermione smiled despite herself, still shaking her head. "Bravery is intact, but that level of stupidity is reserved for the male variety." She looked at him finally, her expression willfully patient. "Just what makes you so interested in spending your birthday with me?" </p><p>That was a fair question, Draco thought. Just why was he suddenly so interested in her attention? "I guess it's just the first time I've seen you without your usual guard-dogs." Or with so little clothing, for that matter.</p><p>"Is that so?" Hermione challenged, considering if that was actually true. It may very well be. "And what would you have done if you'd found me alone before now?" She raised an inquisitive brow. </p><p>"Well," Draco considered her question. "I'd be lying if I said I'd be asking you for a dance, so clearly timing is everything."</p><p>Hermione laughed, before quickly quieting herself. She wasn’t supposed to find this charming, and had no idea why she did. Maybe she was just enjoying the attention. “But we were never alone before, for a reason I’m sure. And I’m quite sure that I won’t be going anywhere alone with you.”</p><p>Apparently Hermione had spoken too soon, because a few minutes later she was being reluctantly drawn onto the dancefloor of a dance club not far from Diagon Alley. She rolled her eyes as he drew her closer to him. “I’m quite sure you’re the devil,” Hermione informed him as he turned her around, so that her back was to his front. She didn’t have much trouble letting the music take her over, and her body, loosened by the many apple flavored drinks, floated against his as they moved with the beat. Hermione also didn't notice it when his hands explored her body, gliding up and down her curves as he engaged her in a sultry dance. Somewhere in the middle of the third song Hermione didn’t think she could stay on her feet for one more minute. She faced Draco and placed a hand on his chest, raking the fingers of her other hand through her curls. “I need water,” she told him, feeling parched and overheated, and a bit dizzy.</p><p>Draco smirked at her. “Yeah, good idea. Why don’t we get some fresh air out back?” he suggested. He got a glass of water for her, and another drink for himself, before going with her out onto the back patio, where they found a wicker couch to occupy. They got comfortable, Hermione pulling her legs up under her for both comfort and modest, and Draco turning himself to face her. </p><p>“So, why are you out here all alone?” Draco asked her, taking in the sight of her again. She was covered in a light layer of sweat, and was flushed from the dancing, but she was smiling despite herself, probably more than she realized. He’d never seen her look so… happy. It was a good look on her.</p><p>Hermione sipped her water for a moment before answering. “Everyone else made plans that did not interest me, so I decided to have a me-day,” she explained simply. They’d probably concluded their quidditch game hours ago, but she was enjoying herself, and it wasn’t as though she had a curfew. </p><p>“I expect those plans included a broom?” Draco guessed with a smirk. </p><p>Hermione considered him in surprise. “Yes, actually...” she agreed. “How would you know that?” It was slightly off-putting, him reading her so easily, assuming that he was reading her at all. </p><p>Draco chuckled and took a small swig from his drink. “Well, from my count every one of your friends plays quidditch, but I haven’t seen you on a broom since first year flying lessons.” She clearly had no interest in being in the air, not even recreationally.</p><p>Hermione blushed furiously. “I may have a slight aversion to flying,” she confessed. “Or heights, in general, for that matter. I don’t mind being up high within the security of a sound structure, of course. Gryffindor tower, for instance, was very high and that never bothered me, but a broom, or a thestral, or even an airplane...” She shook her head quickly. “I mean I’ll do it, if I have to. I rode a bloody gringotts dragon a month ago.” That was still a rather unbelievable fun fact about her life.</p><p>“That dragon thing really happened?” Draco asked, and lowered his voice slightly, remembering suddenly that they were in a muggle establishment.</p><p>"Jealous?" Hermione asked him with a smug grin.</p><p>"Impressed, actually." He didn't know if he had any desire to do such a thing. Riding beasts had proven out of his wheelhouse, as he’d learned in his third year. “How is it you weren’t afraid of a dragon, but you’re afraid to be touched by a man?” he challenged her with a raised eyebrow, leaning back slightly as he observed her. </p><p>Hermione was less amused now. “What makes you think I’m afraid to be touched by a man?” she questioned indignantly. “It’s not true, by the way. I… Let you touch me, while we were dancing.” Sure, she’d made him keep his hands in more or less respectable places, but why should she allow him to grope her? </p><p>“Yes, you let me touch you, like I would touch my own cousin.” Which was ironic given that he’d never even met his recently deceased only cousin. “But have you ever let someone touch you as a woman?” When he’d first touched her thigh she’d slapped him away in the blink of an eye.</p><p>“I-” Hermione started, but sighed. “I’ve been… touched.” He gave her a pitying look, and Hermione shifted onto her knees and turned her body to face him fully. “I have! I’ve snogged my fair share of boys.”</p><p>Draco laughed and scooted forward, closer to the witch. “That has to be one of the most virgin statements I’ve ever heard,” he mocked her with a smirk.</p><p>Hermione scoffed, frustrated. “I am not a virgin!” she denied immediately. He was still regarding her doubtfully. “I’m not! And you’re forgetting that I spent the last year living unsupervised with two wizards.” Okay, so nothing sexual ever took place with either Harry or Ron, but Draco didn’t need to know that. She was suddenly feeling like some sort of prude. She wasn’t a prude! She was just… careful. What was wrong with that? "Just the three of us, alone, for months on end…" </p><p>"So what is it you're trying to make me believe? That you're not a virgin, or that you spent the last year getting doubled by your best mates?" He smirked, and she blushed furiously. </p><p>"I just meant…" Hermione laughed nervously and slapped her hands down on her lap in frustration. "Damnit, Malfoy! I'm not a slag, and I'm not a prude, I'm just… I'm a woman. I'm a sexual being too." He was laughing again. "You're an ass," she complained. "I-" she huffed, and then in a moment of what she could only describe as temporary insanity, she leaned forward, grabbed the front of his shirt, and kissed him heatedly.</p><p>Draco kissed her back immediately, as though he'd expected it, as though he'd wished for it. He grabbed onto her waist and pulled her toward him. To his surprise she moved toward him willingly, climbing into his lap while he deepened the embrace. It was unclear how long they stayed like that, snogging on the couch, but when they broke for sure Draco was feeling incredibly bold. "You want to show me just how not-prude you can be?"</p><p>Hermione was breathing heavily, resting her forehead against his. This was crazy. He was… Malfoy! He still wore the dark mark! Granted, it had already faded considerably, the magic that linked him to the dark load slipping away more and more each day, but it was there, and she was meant to be put off by it. But she had her own scars, and right that moment he didn't care about her blood, so why should she care about his mark? "Alright," she agreed.</p>
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          <p>Sorry for the lateness again. I wanted to write so much more, but think of it this way, next week you get a very smutty look at how baby girl is conceived! Yay!</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
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</div>They’d wound up right back where they started, the Leaky Cauldron, where Hermione managed to secure them a room for the night, since Tom had been reluctant to rent one to a Malfoy. Once upstairs Hermione began to question what she was thinking, why she was there, with him, over analyzing the stupidity of it all, but as soon as his lips found hers again, and he began to touch her and help her out of her clothing, she forgot all about her apprehension.<p>“Nice knickers, Granger,” Draco teased as he took in the sight of her, leaning back on the bed in a matching pink lacy bra and knickers set. He wasn’t mocking her, of course. They were nice, and they looked nice on her. She had an excellent body underneath all the clothes she always covered herself in, if not a little thinner than he was used to. “It’s a shame you’ve kept it hidden away for so long, a body like that.” While he spoke he undressed himself, unbuttoning his shirt while he stepped out of his shoes and pulled off his socks. </p><p>“You think so?” Hermione asked playfully, reaching behind her back with one hand while holding herself up against the mattress with the other. She got her bra unhooked easily enough, and let the straps fall off her arms one at a time. She pulled the cups away, watching him watch her as she revealed her small breasts to him. She’d never felt insecure about her breast size before, but she’d lost a lot of weight in the last year, and she was quite sure she was down a full cup size as a result. Hopefully he wouldn’t hold it against her. </p><p>Draco pushed down his boxers, revealing his medium growth before he crawled up the bed toward her. “Yeah, I think so,” he told her, and Hermione giggled as she fell onto her back, wrapping her arms around him as their lips met. He pressed his body into hers, and she moaned into his mouth as she felt his erection press in between her legs. He hardened fully against her in seconds.</p><p>She’d only had sex once before, regardless of whatever she might have led Draco to believe. It’d been a beautiful encounter, loving, tender, romantic, exactly what a teenage girl could only dream of for her first time. It wasn’t Harry, or Ron, but Viktor Krum, her first boyfriend. It was fitting. It was perfect. This? This was the exact opposite of that. It was wrong on every level, and yet her heart was pounding in her chest with an excitement that Krum had never created in her. It was electric, and hell, it hadn’t even started yet.</p><p>The two of them snogged for a long moment, in which Draco continued to writhe on top of her, teasing her with the promise of what was to come. Hermione eventually broke away from his mouth to let out a wanton moan. "I thought you brought me here to shag me," she pointed out in her frustration, battling her instinct to let good sense win out in favor of a raw need for pleasure.</p><p>"Oh ho ho," Draco chirped in amusement, moving his mouth to her neck, which he sucked and nibbled. "Yes ma'am. But first…" He began to descend down the bed, taking a detour from his main destination to pay each of her perky breasts a bit of attention, and then he continued on his journey, until his face hovered over her lace-covered heat. He could feel it radiating off of her onto his chin as he looked up at her with a wicked grin. </p><p>Hermione looked down her body at him when she realized where he was, and her cheeks grew to a shade of pink he'd never seen on her. "Oh god," she whimpered when she understood what was coming next. He reached for the waistband of her knickers and she raised her hips to assist in their removal. She'd never felt this vulnerable with Krum. He'd made her feel perfectly safe and respected. Draco Malfoy's intentions could never claim to be as pure, and there was absolutely nothing pure about the way he slid his tongue in between her neatly trimmed lips. </p><p>Hermione gasped, watching him as his tongue slipped up and down her slit, and prodded in and out her opening, all the while locking eyes with hers so that he could witness every stunned expression and every silent cry of pleasure. He spread her open carefully with his fingertips and lapped at the pool of juices that his actions summoned from her body. "Oh shit…" she muttered to herself. Just as she thought she was growing used to the sensation, his tongue left her to flick across the small nub of pleasure hiding at the peak of her cunt. "Oh!" She shouted in surprise, and gripped the blanket tightly on either side of her as her eyes squinted shut as her head fell back, no longer able to maintain contact. "Oh god yes!" He was sucking on it now, with increasing intensity, and she thought she might very well implode if he didn't stop. </p><p>She moaned and whimpered, and her hips levitated off the bed seemingly of their own accord. Her breath quickened to a heavy pant, and a tearless sob ripped through her as her body gave in to him, her legs quaking and toes cramping from curling with all their might. There was no pattern to it, no rhyme or reason, just a rogue tongue devouring her as she came. Licking, poking, sucking, he tortured her delicate womanhood until she went limp beneath him from exhaustion.</p><p>Draco nipped her thigh a couple of times before climbing up her body, pressing himself against her again. Her eyes opened and he smirked down at her. </p><p>"I think I just came," she told him in astonishment </p><p>Deacon chuckled as he told hold of his increasingly, panting as she stared up at him. She’d never had an orgasm before, or if she had it hadn’t felt anything like that. </p><p>“You think?” he asked, amused, as he took himself in hand and lined his head up to the dripping wet welcome he’d just prepared for himself. He flicked it back and forth, coating it with her juices.</p><p>Hermione moaned and squirmed against him. She wanted it, and she was terrified of losing her nerve. She didn’t want to beat around the bush, she wanted him to take her, maybe even give her another one of those amazing orgasms. She spread her legs for him, inviting him inside. He didn’t hesitate, beginning to push into her. It took several tries to sink into her fully, and the feel of him stretching her made her whimper. Her arms wrapped around him, fingernails digging into his back as she enjoyed the slow motion he started.</p><p>It was like fucking a virgin, Draco thought, while he rocked back and forth inside of her. She gripped him tightly, not just her cunt, but her arms, her legs. She wanted it bad, and he was only too ready to give it. He moved within her with ease, but her tight hold on him stroked him with a firm grip. “Fuck, love,” he complimented her with a groan that almost sounded like a complaint. “What a cunt!”</p><p>Hermione would have been offended by the crude choice of words, but she recognized the intent of his compliment. “Enjoying it are you?” she asked with a laugh, which was interrupted by a moan as he slammed himself into her. “Oh gods…” Krum had been so gentle their first time, never going too deep, or too fast. Draco didn’t have the same hesitance, and she was grateful. </p><p>“You’re damn right,” Draco agreed, shifting slightly on the bed to get a better aim into her willing body. Her nails gripping into his back made him groan and buck more wildly into her. He buried his face in her neck, sucking hard where it met her shoulder. He could tell she was loving it, so he had to up the ante. He hooked her legs onto the bends of his arms and crashed into her with all his might. Her pant-like moans immediately grew in volume, and the way her nails bit in deeper made him hiss and bite the neck he’d been sucking on.</p><p>“Yes, just like that,” Hermione gasped out. “Oh shit, yes!” Her head was swimming. She’d had so much to drink that it almost didn’t feel real. It was like a dream, a very dirty, very satisfying dream that she had no desire to wake from. “I’m going to cum!” she gasped several minutes in. </p><p>“That’s right,” Draco encouraged. He leaned in and sucked one of her nipples hard into his mouth, capturing it gently between his teeth and harassing it with his tongue. “Oh yeah, love. That’s it. Squeeze that cock.”</p><p>Hermione gasped and moaned while the arches of her feet cramped painfully. The feeling of his tongue teasing her incredibly sensitive tit was shocking. She’d never paid that much mind to the small pink peaks before now. She didn’t know they were so alert. “Oh god oh god oh god!” she chanted with rising pitch. His cock was like a battering ram, slamming into her with determination. She squinted her eyes shut again and saw stars behind her lids. “Yes, yes!” </p><p>Draco hadn’t meant to let her take him with her, but her grip was so secure, milking him so eagerly that in his alcohol-addled mind he forgot that he wasn’t supposed to allow it. “Ugh, fuck yeah…” He filled her, a treat he didn’t usually allow himself, but after all, it was his birthday. He carried her though, slowing only after her nails had dislodged from the skin on his back. He came to a stop but remained inside of her, looking down to observe her.</p><p>Her head was leaned back, eyes closed and mouth open. She was breathing heavily, and one hand fell back to tangle into her curls, the other landing on her small tit, holding it and teasing it with her fingers in a way that almost looked accidental, like she wasn't aware she was doing it. She didn’t open her eyes, but instead let herself savor this blissful moment.</p><p>Draco, too, wished to let this moment linger, so he peppered her neck and chest with soft lips, eventually latching onto her ignored breasts. He groaned around the flesh in his mouth, and Hermione moaned softly in reply, releasing her other nipple to tangle into his hair. She gently scraped his scalp while he fed fruitlessly from her tit, and then the other.</p><p>Finally Draco surrendered, rolling off of her onto his back beside her. He turned just his head to face her, smirking. "Happy birthday to me, indeed," he said to her playfully.</p><p>Hermione rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. At his words she smacked him on the arm, but it lacked intention. "Is that what that was to you? A birthday present?" She asked, turning her face to him. </p><p>"Well it certainly doesn't damper the occasion," Draco responded thoughtfully. He groaned and moved off of the bed. Hermione's eyes followed him, worried. "You're not-"</p><p>"Leaving?" Draco asked, and laughed. "No, darling, just need to take a piss, if you don't mind." Hermione felt stupid for caring one way or the other. She blushed, but before he departed to the loo he kissed her lips hard. "I'll be right back."</p><p>Hermione tried not to let herself freak out while he was gone. She could hear his stream, and the oddity of everything that'd just taken place hit her, making her dizzy. She leaned into the bed, letting it comfort her. </p><p>Draco returned a minute later, and Hermione's eyes were closed, prepared to let sleep take her after such a crazy evening, but when Draco moved back onto bed he climbed directly on top of her. She was much too tense and self-conscious, and he wished to break her of such a toxic perspective on something as normal as sex. As he'd hoped, Hermione laughed, a tired but relaxed laugh.</p><p>"What are you doing?" she chuckled as his body weighed down on hers. She felt his hands on her waist, which explained when his entire weight was spread out over hers. He gave her a squeeze, before his hands teased their way down to cup the curve of her backside, which he squeezed next.</p><p>"You've got a cute little ass, you know that?" was Draco's unhelpful answer.</p><p>"Is that so?" Hermione laughed while his fingers kneaded into what little flesh was there.</p><p>"Yeah," Draco continued. He could feel himself growing aroused again, hardening between her cheeks. "So small and yet so round."</p><p>"Draco!" Hermione chastised as she felt the very obvious growth push into her. She wondered if all teenage boys were this easily aroused. </p><p>"Yes?" Draco asked innocently. He brought one hand up to pull the hair away from her right shoulder, where he trailed kisses from ball to neck, and began to suck on the sensitive flesh. His left hand moved between her legs, teasing her still dripping opening.</p><p>"You're incorrigible," Hermione complained through a smile so true it hurt her cheeks. It did feel nice.</p><p>Two fingers slipped into her heat and then out again, before he took hold of his shaft and smeared the wetness onto the head. "I think you mean insatiable," Draco corrected, and aligned himself with her entrance, but waited a moment longer, offering her the opportunity to refuse.</p><p>Hermione let out a soft moan at the feel of his fingers within her, however briefly. "Really?" She asked him, having not expected another go. </p><p>"You have a reason why not?" Draco asked, pressing just the head into her in warning.</p><p>"None, actually," Hermione said with a coy grin. Why not indeed. It wasn't as though she'd ever let it happen again. She may as well make the most of it. "But this one is definitely your present, so don't expect anything else from me," she joked. </p><p>Draco pushed Hermione's right leg open to her side with his knee, opening her to him in a more relaxed but also accessible position. He was genuinely surprised by her joke. His head threw back with the unexpected laugh. "Fuck, you're something," he told her, before pushing into her.</p><p>Hermione was still giggling in response to his reaction to her when he sank in, and she was interrupted by a deep moan. "Oh gods…" He didn't take his time this round, moving harshly inside of her from the jump. Within the first minute or two he'd pulled her up onto her knees, and she was unable to contain the noises the shock of his penetration forced out of her. She held onto the bedspread for dear life, back arching while he pounded into her from behind. "Fuck! Fuck! Oh god yes!"</p><p>It wasn’t even ten minutes later that Draco finished, but he didn't think she minded, having courteously announced her own climax only moments before him. He pulled out a little too late, and almost immediately she lowered herself onto the bed again, spent. She shifted only slightly to get comfortable.</p><p>Draco fell on top of her for a moment as well before moving to lay beside her. "I've gotta give it to you, Granger," he said when he'd caught his breath. "You are definitely-" he looked over at her and quickly realized that she was gone, out cold from too many apple martinis and fire whiskey shots, and a couple good hard shags. "Not a prude…" </p><p>The morning of June sixth Hermione woke to the sun shining in through the thin, aged curtain attempting to cover the one small window in the room. Normally a welcome greeting, this morning it was a fickle mistress. She groaned and made to stretch out her legs only to find them entangled with another pair. She became quickly aware of many things all at once, causing her head severe pain. She was not alone in this bed. She was naked. She wasn't at the Burrow. She was severely hungover. And most horrifying of all, the body that was wrapped so intimately around hers belonged to none other than Draco Malfoy. They'd had sex, good sex, and they'd done it twice.</p><p>Actually, as she thought about it, it'd been a rather good time. They'd danced, and drank, and flirted, and drank, and snogged, and against all odds had fallen into bed together. She had no complaints, really. He'd been an attentive lover, just affectionate enough to make her feel appreciated, without trying to pretend that they shared anything that they didn't. He took control, and showed her what she wanted, rather than expecting her to know. It was just… fun. Good, dirty fun. And it could never, under any circumstances, happen again. </p><p>Not wanting to wake the sleeping dragon, she had to wait a bit for him to eventually disentangle himself from her in order to slip out of the bed. She paid a trip to the loo, gathering her clothes and purse as she went in order to dress in the bathroom while she was there. It was quite possibly the most refreshing wiz of her life, long overdue, but the pounding of her head and churning of her stomach made it difficult to appreciate. She'd have to stop through the bar on the way out for a cure potion. She washed her hands, and her face, and used what little she kept in her bag to refresh her appearance, even going so far as to apply a fresh layer of the pink translucent glitter gloss Ginny had gifted her. She had no clue what time it was or how occupied the pub would be, and she wanted to look at least halfway decent, just in case.</p><p>She realized only then that her friends were probably worried that she hadn't come home. She'd have to come up with an explanation sooner rather than later. When she was ready, and sure that Malfoy was still asleep, Hermione found a note sized piece of parchment on the desk and a quill, and scribbled a quick parting note, and at the last second finished it with a glittery kiss. She left the note on the pillow where her head had laid, and stepped out as quietly as she could manage.</p><p>Downstairs she found that the inn was once again filled with various patrons, either just stopping through during their morning shopping, or having stayed the night before. Hermione approached the bar as boldly as she could manage and requested a hangover cure. She passed over a couple sickles and accepted the small vial, wasting no time in swallowing down the miracle mixture. She sat down on a barstool, possibly the same one she’d occupied the night before, and with her elbow on the bar, held her head in her hand for a moment as she let the potion take. A smile spread over her as she thought about the events the night before. Her own dirty little secret.</p><p>“I still can’t believe Draco pulled it off,” Hermione heard a voice say. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but hearing his name caught her interest, and she moved only her eyes in the direction it came from. Three of the four young men who’d accompanied Malfoy for his birthday celebration were sitting around, enjoying a cold pumpkin juice. “A prude like her? I was sure I’d win on that one.” Her heart began to race. They weren’t just talking about him, they were talking about them. She looked away again, eyes wide, and listened in with rapt interest.</p><p>“Should’a known. You ever know Malfoy to put coin on a bet he can’t win?”</p><p>“You think he knew she’d be a sure thing?”</p><p>“Nah!” the second one said with obvious amusement. “I think he’s just cocky enough to think he’d manage it, and he wasn’t wrong, was he?”</p><p>“It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?” The first said, sounding thoughtful. “All bookish and sweet faced. Those are the ones I like to see on their knees, you know what I’m saying?” The three laughed heartily.</p><p>“Now wait a second,” the third one interrupted. “What makes you lot think he got it in? Just because they got a room doesn’t mean-”</p><p>“Oh come off it. You know Malfoy always likes to sleep in after a good fuck, and look at it now. Already after eleven and he’s still upstairs.”</p><p>“You think they’re still going at it?” one of them speculated, and she could hear the disgusting smirk he wore while he spoke. </p><p>“Can’t be,” the second voice said, and there was a pause. “She’s right over there, getting ready to take her walk of shame.”</p><p>Hermione choked on a sob, covering her mouth with her hand to hold in the sound. Her chest ached, and though her hangover was now gone, her blood ran cold, misery and regret overtaking her. It was all a joke to him, a sick prank, a bet. He’d placed money on the fact that he would bed her. </p><p>She felt sick.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
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            <p>Hermione is visited by two friends who manage to see through Hermione's mask and help her find clarity in her difficult situation. </p><p>TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of rape in this chapter</p>
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</div>It was a few days into November before Hermione had recovered from what was apparently just a very unpleasant cold. In that time Draco continued to care for her, perhaps, she suspected, to prove he had the capacity to care for another human being. Apart from pepper-up potion, which proved nauseating shortly after the first dose, there wasn't much she could take that was safe enough for the baby, according to Madame Pomfrey. This allowed Draco to make himself useful while she remained miserably congested. He brought her soup, crackers, and ginger tonics, as well as, by her insistence, her course work. She refused to fall behind because of a damn chest cold.<p>However, unlike the first day he'd brought her soup, there was no more deep, meaningful conversation. No more arguing. Not much talking to speak of at all. It was just too uncomfortable. She had let herself show too much vulnerability already, and she didn't care for it. It was hard enough just relaxing and letting her baby bump remain visible in front of him. </p><p>She was finally feeling well enough to return to classes when she woke on Friday morning, but didn't see the harm in giving herself one more recovery day. That Friday afternoon she received an owl from Luna and Neville, who were now properly shacked up in a small two-bedroom flat in London, according to their letter. They also wondered if she would be interested in meeting them that weekend. So, come Sunday after lunch Neville and Luna were seated on Hermione's couch, having wanted to speak with her in private. </p><p>"My goodness, Luna, look at you!" Hermione gushed at the sight of her petite platinum friend with such a large belly. "You must be ready to pop!"</p><p>Luna smiled wistfully. "A few weeks to go, though he could come at any time now."</p><p>"Which we're ready for," Neville added in, taking hold of Luna's hand as he beamed proudly. </p><p>"Wow." Hermione had no idea how they were so calm about the whole thing. She was still freaking out, and she had months to go yet. "So you two must not have wasted any time." In order for her to be this pregnant, they must have conceived immediately following the battle, if not before it.</p><p>"Well," Neville started out, and Hermione could immediately tell he was becoming serious, even as he smiled, somewhat pityingly, toward her. "We actually wanted to talk to you about that."</p><p>Hermione suddenly became uncomfortable, unable to decipher the meaning for his clearly meaningful statement. She shifted and adjusted her oversized jumper, which was all black and paired with an illusion charm to hide her own belly, which she could swear protruded more and more by the day. "What about?"</p><p>Neville and Luna exchanged glances. "Now, you mustn't be upset with him, he was only trying to help."</p><p>"Mustn't be upset with who?" Hermione asked, heart making a nervous leap. Was it Malfoy? Had he ratted her out to her friends? No. That made no sense. Why would he tell them and not Harry or Ron or even Ginny? So who was “he”, as why was he trying to help? "What is this about?" She couldn't help feeling a bit set-up.</p><p>"We've all seen that there's something going on with you, Hermione. You're not yourself. You've shut people out. And… George reckons he might understand why. He only told us, because…"</p><p>"Because we're expecting a baby as well, of course," Luna cut to the point. "It is rather obvious now. I'm not sure how I missed it the last time I was here." </p><p>Hermione's eyes went wide, and she could feel them filling with water. "I'm not-" she started to deny, though she wasn't sure there was any point now. They were clearly confident in their knowledge. "He said he wouldn't tell…" She hadn't even let herself believe he knew the truth. She tried to hold strong, blinking away tears before they could fall. </p><p>"Some promises shouldn't be kept," Luna said, annoying Hermione with her wisdom.</p><p>"He didn't mean to break his word. He thought you just needed a bit more time. But it's been months, Hermione. You haven't told anyone?" Neville looked at her with concern, or was it pity? Merlin, she hoped it wasn't pity.</p><p>Hermione's hand moved onto her stomach, seemingly floating due to the concealment charm on her stomach. "I've told… a couple people." They both looked at her expectantly, and she sighed. "McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Viktor Krum…"</p><p>"Oh!" Luna chirped. "Is he the father?" she guessed with hopeful curiosity.</p><p>Hermione sighed. "No, he's not." It would have been so much simpler if he were. Sure, Ron would have been upset, but he'd have gotten over it. She wouldn't have felt any need to hide it. "That would have been much easier."</p><p>"I don't understand why you aren't telling anyone," Neville said with a frown.</p><p>"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Luna said, looking over at her boyfriend. "She doesn't want anyone to know she had sex with someone." She turned to Hermione. "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. Most teenagers have sex, and are often incredibly fertile at this age." </p><p>Hermione sighed. "I'm not ashamed that I had sex. It wasn't the first time. It wasn't even the most recent time," she tried to explain, and blushed at her own confession. "I just… I made a really big mistake, you guys." She was basically pleading for them to understand. </p><p>"Pregnancy isn't a mistake," Neville told her sadly. </p><p>"Well that's easy for you two to say isn't it? You love each other." She could feel herself getting all worked up and emotional, and she hated it. She'd always prided herself on her level-headedness, but the more pregnant she grew the harder it was for her to control her emotions. It was infuriating. </p><p>"But that's just what we came here to talk to you about," Neville started.</p><p>Luna piped in as well. "Yes. Neville and I love each other. But he didn't get me pregnant."</p><p>Hermione stared at them. "I don't understand." It was hard enough to imagine Luna as a sexually active woman, but to imagine that she'd been intimate with more than one man? </p><p>"If I'm not ashamed of my baby, you shouldn't be ashamed of yours," Luna went on. "He might not have been conceived in love, but he'll be born into love, and that's what matters."</p><p>Hermione looked back and forth between the couple. She still didn't understand. "Well then… how was he conceived?" It seemed like a silly question, but she didn't take Luna for the casual sex kind of girl. There had to be more to the story.</p><p>“I fell pregnant while I was being held at Malfoy Manor,” Luna explained. Hermione covered her mouth with her hand.</p><p>“Luna- Merlin, you don’t mean-?” The very thought made her feel sick.</p><p>“Yes, it really was quite traumatic.” For the first time since Hermione had known her, except perhaps immediately following the battle, Luna actually looked sad.</p><p>“But as far as I’m concerned,” Neville broke the uncomfortable silence, taking Luna’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “And as far as anyone else in the world will ever know, this is my son, and he’ll always be my son.”</p><p>Hermione did her best to wrap her head around this information. “It was a death eater?” What else was she to assume. “Or a snatcher?”</p><p>“I’m not sure what he was. It was so dark. But it’s better that way. His face can’t haunt me.” And she meant that, sincerely. </p><p>The brunette shifted in her seat uncomfortably again, and held her stomach more tightly. She remembered being glad she was having a girl, because she (hopefully) wouldn’t be an exact clone of her father. She had to imagine that Luna would be burdened by the same fear if she’d seen her attacker. It made her think that having her daughter resemble Malfoy maybe wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Carrying your rapist’s child, that had to be much, much worse. Draco might have used her and manipulated her, but she would never say he’d raped her. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”</p><p>Luna frowned. “Me too, but it’s alright, I suppose. Something beautiful came from it. I want to celebrate my child coming into my life, and I think you should too.”</p><p>Hermione choked back a sob. “God, you’re right.” She moved her hand from her belly to her forehead, leaning her elbow on the arm of her chair. “I’m an awful mother, aren’t I?”</p><p>“No, Hermione, you’re n-”</p><p>“Yes I am!” Hermione protested angrily. “I am, I’ve been awful. I’ve denied her for months. I’ve lied to everyone who cares about me, I’ve kept her secret from her father, or tried to anyway. I don’t want her growing up thinking I don’t want her, that I don’t love her, I do! Of course I do! But what are people going to think? I don’t have the cover of a boyfriend who loves me. No one is going to step up to raise this baby with me. And I can’t just say who he is. I can’t.” Despite her best efforts she was in tears yet again. “Harry will never forgive me. Ron will never forgive me.”</p><p>“Hermione, Harry and Ron love you. We all love you, and no one is going to turn their back on you over one mistake, no matter how big it might feel to you,” Neville explained to her with clear distinction. “Whether or not you choose to divulge the who, the what can’t be kept secret any longer. Now more than ever we need to support each other. That includes supporting you and this baby.”</p><p>Hermione sniffed deeply. “I’ve made such a mess of all of this,” she said after a moment of collecting herself. She wiped her eyes in frustration. “Bloody hell, I’m so embarrassed.”</p><p>"Have you decided what to call her?" Luna's question startled Hermione, but it had the desired effect of distracting her.</p><p>"I- no, I haven't. I've given it some thought of course." She sniffed again, but was beginning to recover. "Charlotte, Rosalie, Genevieve, Giovanna, Gwendolyn, Katerina…" She hadn't been able to say these names out loud to anyone before, only to herself. </p><p>"Those are all beautiful names," Luna said with a small smile that was less pitying this time.</p><p>"Thank you." Now that she'd calmed down quite a bit she looked at her two friends as she pulled her feet up under her. "What do I do now? How do I undo the damage?"</p><p>"You should try telling people one by one. It'll be less overwhelming that way, and it'll get you used to talking about it," Luna suggested helpfully.</p><p>"Yeah," Neville agreed. "Start with those you're least afraid to tell. It'll warm you up for the more difficult ones." She'd specifically mentioned that Harry and Ron wouldn't forgive her, and he figured they must be the two she was most worried about telling.</p><p>"That's very helpful," Hermione told them both, slightly surprised. "Really, thank you." She cradled her belly with one arm. She would follow their advice, and if she was being honest the hardest one was already out of the way, Draco. </p><p>After a moment of hesitation, Neville opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and then tried again. "You don't have to tell me who he is, but… he knows? And he doesn't intend to be involved?" It's what she made it sound like, like she was in this entirely alone. </p><p>Hermione's lips pressed into a thin line. "He knows," she confirmed. "His level of involvement is yet to be determined."</p><p>"Well I know you didn't ask for my opinion or advice, but unless you think he'll be a detriment to your child's life, don't let your daughter go without a father just to spite him."</p><p>Neville's words hit Hermione hard, and it gave her a lot to think about. The couple stayed for another hour or so, and the three talked about significantly lighter topics from that point out. When they had gone, Hermione decided that she and Draco needed to talk. Before she began telling anyone, she needed him to decide what he was going to do. Was he going to claim this child, or wasn’t he? It took Hermione nearly an hour to buck up the courage to knock on his door. After five rapid taps, Hermione remained rooted there, heart pounding, flooded with anxiety. She hated this.</p><p>Draco opened the door, surprised. “What is it?” he asked, looking her up and down. “Are you sick again?” It was hard to believe it could be a social call.</p><p>“I think we need to talk,” she told him with determination, her voice only quaking slightly.</p><p>Draco nodded. “Yeah, I suppose we do.” He sighed. “Your place or mine?” He tried to smirk, but it was weak, defeated.</p><p>“Mine of course,” Hermione told him, moving out of the way to let him in.</p><p>“Of course. And why is it always yours?” he asked, following and closing her door behind him. </p><p>Hermione moved to sit on the couch, pulling one foot underneath her. “Because I get much more satisfaction from throwing you out of my room than I do with a storm out,” she explained with a cheeky grin, an attempt at humor.</p><p>“That explains so much.” He sat on the couch opposite her, turning his body to face her as she faced him. “Alright, so, what’s this talk you want to have?”</p><p>Hermione took a deep, stabilizing breath. “Are you going to take claim of this baby or not?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi everyone! I'd been hoping to get this chapter to you sooner in the day but unfortunately I've been ill. Please excuse that this chapter isn't particularly fun, but its a huge milestone in the story that I've been planning for a long time.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
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</div><p>Draco stared at her in awe. “Am I what?” After their last conversation he’d taken away that she didn’t want him to claim their child, not if it meant that he could end up resenting her for ending hundreds of years of pureblood status. “You’re giving me a choice?”</p><p>“It was always your choice,” Hermione said calmly. “She’s your daughter.”</p><p>“Bullshit!” Hermione jumped at the harshness of his voice, and Draco regretted it. He calmed. “If it was always my choice you would have told me back in July when you first took the damn test.”</p><p>Hermione nodded. “Alright, but you know now. You’ve known for weeks, and when I gave you your out you took it without a second thought.” She spoke as calmly as she could, but she knew that he had the right to be a little indignant. She hadn’t been particularly fair, even if she did have her reasons.</p><p>“Well I’ve given it a second thought now, and a third, and a hundredth.” Draco’s foot bounced on the floor in show of his frustration. “And you’re right, she is my daughter. And I’m her father.”</p><p>Hermione’s mouth gave a twitch, uncertain if she wanted to smile or frown. “So that’s it then? You’ve decided?”</p><p>“I’ve decided that I don’t want to be a deadbeat. I don’t want to be some shit father like mine was. And I’m sure as shit not going to let you bully me into abandoning my own kid.” There was more conviction in his voice than she could have expected, especially since he hadn’t known this talk was coming. He must have been preparing for the day when it would.</p><p>“I never bullied you,” Hermione denied with a roll of her eyes.</p><p>“Oh come off it!” Draco was still very annoyed, and it showed. “You offered that out for yourself, not for me. You were using it to get rid of me. Well I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>Hermione looked down at her lap, at her stomach, where her hands fiddled nervously. “You’re sure you’ve thought this through? Your parents-”</p><p>“My parents,” Draco interrupted, “Will either be happy to welcome their first grandchild, or they’ll disown me. That’s their choice to make.”</p><p>“And how will you support your child with your family money cut off?” Hermione challenged him, testing to see just how much consideration he’d really given the idea.</p><p>“Bellatrix left me everything. They can disown me but that can’t take away what’s rightfully mine,” Draco explained to her. “If she’s going to be a Malfoy she’s going to want for nothing.”</p><p>Hermione let out a short laugh. “Well, she won’t exactly be a Malfoy now will she?” </p><p>Draco gave her a warning look. "Of course she will. She's my daughter."</p><p>Hermione sat up a little straighter, hardening herself for the argument she was sure was about to ensue. "She's first and foremost my daughter, given that she's currently living inside my body. So I feel it's only appropriate that she have my name. And since I am not a Malfoy, neither will she be."</p><p>"Are you fucking kidding?" Draco asked with a mocking laugh. "You can't just- she's my kid, she'll have my name. See this just goes to show that you never wanted me to claim her. You don't want to share her with your dirty little secret one night stand. You don't want the world to know you're raising a child with a known death eater!" His volume raised with each accusation, and when he finished she was glaring at him. </p><p>"Oh come off it! This isn't about you being a death eater. It's about you being a cold, cruel, manipulative son of a-"</p><p>"Don't you say another word, and especially not about my mother!" He was really angry now. "I told you already I had nothing to do with that stupid bet. It had nothing to do with what happened between us that night, and I'll be DAMNED if I let you keep holding it against me!"</p><p>Hermione looked as though she'd been slapped, her mouth hanging open slightly at the audacity he had in raising his voice at her. She closed her mouth and took a moment to breath. "Alright," she spoke calmly. "So what do you say happened that night." If he was so insistent that he had nothing to do with that bet, she wanted to hear him prove it. </p><p>Draco was sure this was a trap, but he was also sure it was the only chance she was going to give him to tell his side. "What happened that night is that as soon as I saw you sitting at that bar I just had to talk to you. I had already started to walk away from the party when one of them mentioned the bet. I assumed it was a joke. I never thought about it again." He couldn't tell if she was believing him or not, but it was the truth. </p><p>Hermione shifted out of her defensive stance. So far his story sounded like it could be legitimate, or he could have just recently planned it out that story to tell her. "Go on," she encouraged, voice still hard, reluctant.</p><p>"Everything that happened after that was just for the fun of it. We got drunk, hell we were already drunk, we got more drunk, we danced, we flirted, we fucked, twice. And you fucking loved it so don't give me that bullshit." He glared at her, and Hermione's cheeks heated up under his scrutiny.</p><p>"I didn't say anything…" Hermione couldn't help but believe him. Everything he'd said, as far as he could tell, matched what she remembered. And she had loved it. Not that she was about to admit that to him. But it didn't explain everything. "So why did your friends seem to think you'd put money on getting me to put out?" she challenged him. </p><p>Draco sighed. "I think I said something like 'I'll take that bet' as I was walking away." Okay, so it wasn't the greatest argument towards his innocence, but it was just condemning enough that she might actually believe him. "Like I said, I thought it was a joke. It wasn't a plan. It wasn't a scheme." He looked at her, she was looking down at her lap, playing with a loose thread on the hem of her leggings, and groaned in frustration. "It wasn't a plot against you okay? I just wanted to be with you!"</p><p>Hermione looked up at him again at the sudden intensity in his voice. It wasn't anger like it'd been a minute ago. It was something very different. It surprised her. "Why?" It wasn't an easy thing to do, to believe him, trust him. But he sounded genuine, and as determined as she'd been to hate him, wouldn't it be better to know that he hadn't actually hurt her as she thought he had? Still, she was nervous. She didn't want to get her hopes up. "Why did you want to be with me?" Her voice cracked this time with emotion she didn't realize she was holding back.</p><p>"Have you even looked in a mirror in the last few years? You're bloody gorgeous, and you don't even know it, which is infuriating, plus you’re forbidden fruit on top of it. But the war is over now and I don't care what kind of blood you have." It was a shallow answer but at least it was honest. "I'm not gonna sit here and declare my love for you, because that would be a lie, and I won't disrespect you like that. But you're hot, and you're smart, and a bigger pain in the ass than you're worth, but I'm attracted to you, alright?"</p><p>Hermione blushed furiously. "So you didn't hook up with me to win a bet. You just hooked up with me because… I let you." She felt so stupid. She'd been so easy about it. But that wasn't his fault. She'd made her choice, and if he was telling the truth, as she was now inclined to believe that he was, it was not under any false pretenses as she'd believed at these months.</p><p>"Yeah," Draco answered with a sigh. "Basically." He ran his fingers back through his hair in his frustration, which was deflating, but still felt. "I'm not a saint, obviously. I just really enjoyed that night, and I thought you did too but apparently-"</p><p>"I did," Hermione interrupted for the record. She looked away from him in her embarrassment. "It was great, despite the hangover the next morning. But then..."</p><p>"But then you heard those idiots talking about us." He couldn't be mad at her for thinking what she did given what she must have heard. He was just glad to have been given the chance to explain himself. "You feel like a dick yet?" he asked, only partially smug.</p><p>"Yes," Hermione answered, sighed, and looked up at him again. "Do you blame me for thinking the worst?"</p><p>"No." They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. "So it's settled then, we're naming her Malfoy."</p><p>Hermione's eyes went wide and then narrowed into slits. "Just because I was wrong does not mean that I am going to give my daughter any name that isn't mine!"</p><p>"Let's just go back a few steps, shall we?" He was no longer mad. In fact he felt a bit vindicated now. "If you hadn't heard about that bloody bet what would you have done when I found you on the train?" </p><p>"I-" Hermione wasn't prepared for how to answer that. She tried to put herself back there, and try to recreate the events in her mind, but she felt like she was being quizzed, like she was running out of time. "I- I have no idea!" She couldn't process such a thought.</p><p>"Would you have been so rude?"</p><p>"No," Hermione answered in a small voice.</p><p>"Would you have dismissed me? Tried to get away from me? Recoiled at my very touch?"</p><p>"No, probably not."</p><p>"Would you have let me kiss you again?" Draco continued to bombard her with questions, and she was becoming rather flustered. </p><p>"I don't know!" she cried out, overwhelmed and wanting the interrogation to stop. "I don't know what I would have done! I don't know if I would have been happy to see you. I don’t know if I would have told you I was pregnant. I don’t know if I would want it to become something more. I don’t know if I would have let that night simply be a pleasant memory, never to be repeated. I don't know, okay? I don't-" </p><p>There were tears in her eyes, and Draco worried he may have overdone it. She looked like she was starting to panic. Draco moved closer to her. "Don’t go getting teary eyed on me now, girl,” he said to her.</p><p>“I just...” She swallowed dryly. Hermione didn’t know what to say. “I’m so scared!”</p><p>“I know,” Draco told her. He scooted closer to her again. “We both are.” He cupped her face in his hand gently, and she leaned into the touch. “It’s going to be okay.” He leaned toward her, and as his face drew closer to hers she pulled back.</p><p>“Draco don’t-”</p><p>“Damnit, woman, would you just stand down, for one minute?” She stared up at him, her eyes swimming with sadness and worry. He leaned in again and this time she didn’t pull away, letting his lips meet hers in a tender kiss.</p><p>It was nice. It wasn’t like the other times, like when they were drunk and horny, or when she was playing the role of some mystery woman who just needed a quick fix. It was terrifyingly intimate. She hummed softly against his lips, and allowed him to deepen the embrace, letting her guard down as he’d requested. She’d let it so far down that she didn’t realize how easily she was giving in to him until her head landed on the couch cushion behind her, and he was on top of her. Her heart began to hammer in her chest, not sure where this was going, or how much she was going to permit. </p><p>So far, though, he was on his best behavior, keeping his hands to himself as they explored one another’s mouths experimentally. She pulled her mouth away only when she couldn’t breath, and when she did he moved his to her ear, teasing her, the tip of his tongue tracing the shell, before he sucked on her lobe and tugged on it slightly with his teeth. She let out the softest moan. It felt nice, very nice in fact. She stretched her head back and he took the bait, mouth traveling down to her neck, where he kissed and sucked her soft fragile skin. She could feel herself becoming worked up, arousal pooling between her legs, which she rubbed together in need of the friction. No, she couldn’t. She wasn’t going to have sex with him again. Not because her hormones were telling her she wanted to. This was just a snog, nothing more. Surely she was capable of snogging him without shagging him.</p><p>And then he was lowering himself on her, resting his weight on one forearm on the cushion beside her while the other hand found her hip. Just her hip, she could handle that, even when he squeezed it. His mouth was on hers again and she kissed him back with determination. Maybe if she snogged him a little longer… But the hand was no longer on its best behavior, now gliding up the curve of her waist, slipping under her shirt as it moved. She pulled one leg up between him and the couch, for what reason she didn’t know, because it only served to permit him to settle between her legs, and when he did she could feel him, all of him, the hardness she’d enjoyed twice before. He pressed himself against her, and she returned the gesture, rolling against him as she moaned into his mouth. The moan turned into a groan, and she broke her lips away from him. “We should stop now,” she suggested reasonably. </p><p>Draco moved his lips to her neck again, sucking a bit harder now on the thin skin on her throat. “I can’t imagine why that’s necessary,” he debated. </p><p>Hermione laughed. “Because we don’t… do this.” It sounded like a pretty lame reason even as she said this. </p><p>“You need to stop seeing me as the bad guy,” Draco reasoned. He leaned up and looked down at her. “You’ve spent the last five months letting yourself believe that I did something to hurt you, something that I never did. Let me redeem myself.”</p><p>“With sex?” Hermione asked, finding the idea absurd. “How is that going to change anything?”</p><p>“Sex changes everything,” Draco answered, an ironic twist considering that it was usually someone’s very reason to not have sex. “It would be a do-over. No bets, no alcohol, no hangovers. Just you and me getting down and dirty just for the fun of it.”</p><p>“Just for the fun of it?” Hermione deflated slightly. “Wouldn’t you rather shag someone who’s not five months pregnant and busting out of her clothes?”</p><p>“No,” Draco answered quickly. “I’d rather bond with the mother of my child.”</p><p>“I thought it was just for fun. Now it’s for bonding?”</p><p>Draco groaned and ground himself against her. “Are you telling me you have no interest in being shagged?” He lowered himself over her again, kissing the other side of her neck this time. “In being touched-” the hand inside her shirt slid down towards the heat coming from between her legs. “And kissed…” He kissed a trail along her jaw leading up to her ear. “And licked.” His tongue swirled around her ear again, while his fingers slipped under the elastic waistband of her leggings. “And fucked?” he concluded with a nip to her earlobe, tugging on the fleshy piece with his teeth. </p><p>Hermione had made peace with the fact that she wouldn’t be getting any more action between now and after the baby was born, and Merlin only knew how long after that. She hadn’t imagined a scenario in which it would happen, nor did she think she cared. She didn’t need it. She wasn’t some sort of fiend. But now he was saying these dirty, tempting words, and she could feel his hardness, remembered how good it felt inside of her, and his fingers were creeping so very close to her wetness, and she wanted to feel his touch more than she was willing to admit.</p><p>“Not here,” she finally told him. “The bedroom.” She didn’t think the couch would be a very comfortable place to fool around, not given her size. Draco responded quickly, and just a minute later they were in her room, in her bed, with their clothes gone. Hermione couldn’t help but feel self-conscious, so much more now than when she’d been with Krum six weeks prior. She felt silly for feeling big then. She’d only just begun to pop at the time. </p><p>Draco settled on top of her, smirking down at her. “Would you quit being such a girl, you’re fucking sexy, baby bump or no baby bump.” He lined himself up at her entrance, flicking the head of his cock against her wet opening.</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help grinning at the compliment. “You’re ridiculous. Oh!” He was inside of her suddenly, and she let out a deep moan. “Oh that feels good.”</p><p>Draco chuckled as he began to move inside of her, pushing her legs up to open her for him. She wrapped one of her legs around him, and both arms, holding onto him tightly as he began to fall into a deep steady rhythm. She felt just as good as he remembered, and having not had his usual number of hookups this year, he was more eager than usual. It was odd, though, feeling her belly against his abs as he thrust into her. She must have thought so, too, because after a couple of minutes of moaning and panting, she whimpered.</p><p>“I want to turn over,” Hermione said to him when she’d worked up the courage. She remembered their first night together, how he’d taken her from behind the second time, and she remembered how good it felt. Plus, if they changed positions, she wouldn’t have to feel him rubbing against her stomach.</p><p>Draco nodded and kissed her deeply for a moment before moving off of her. When he did she moved onto her knees, settling in on all fours. She lowered her chest to the bed, and he gave her backside a playful smack, which made her laugh. Draco leaned over her briefly to capture her in a smoldering kiss, before he pushed back inside of her, picking up where he left off.</p><p>“Oh, yes, Draco!” Hermione moaned out, the new position significantly more intense than she remembered it. She held onto the bedspread as the force of his movements rocked her body. Within the first few minutes she could feel the familiar coiling of tension in her core. “God, I’m gonna cum,” she warned him.</p><p>With that news in mind, Draco increased his pace, slamming into her fiercely. The room was filled with her moans and the sound of his thighs rapidly slapping against her cheeks. She was gripping him harder than he thought he’d ever experienced, or maybe he just appreciated it more because he wasn’t getting a lot of action these days. “Fuck!” Draco groaned, pushing through the tightness. He leaned forward, grabbing one of Hermione’s breasts. He squeezed it, playing with her nipples. “So tight. I’m so close!”</p><p>“Harder, please, it’s so good!” She felt like she could let loose with him, not needing to hold back, because he wouldn’t judge her for her desires. “Oh God, yes, YES!”</p><p>Draco plowed into her so hard he thought they might both be bruised from the force of the impact. He wouldn’t pull out this time, he didn’t see the point. She was milking him with all her might, and he couldn’t hold it back anymore. “I can’t- I’m- ugh!” He groaned and grunted, letting loose deep into her womb.</p><p>Hermione moaned and panted heavily as she felt him finishing within her. She didn’t mind, in fact it felt rather nice, and when at long last he withdrew, Hermione carefully turned over and settled on her back once more. Her eyes closed and she concentrated on regaining her breath, but a smile played on her lips. It hadn’t lasted terribly long, but she hadn’t expected it to happen at all, so it was a pleasant surprise. She let out a long content hum of appreciation. </p><p>Draco stared down at her, fully sated, somewhat sweaty, chest heaving. He leaned down and kissed his way from her stomach up to her chest, where his mouth found her hard nipple. He sucked on it, swirled his tongue around it, and sucked it some more, and then his eyes opened, and landed on a unique cluster of freckles, just over her left breast, over her heart. Draco’s mouth fell open, the breast it had been sucking on falling back against her chest. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me…”</p>
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          <p>Sorry for the delay, but I do hope that the drama and fluff and smut all in one chapter makes up for it! As always I live and breath for your feedback so please let me know what you think. Every new message in my inbox makes my day. Comments, questions, predictions, lay 'em on me!</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
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</div>"Hmm?" Hermione had been enjoying the gentle physical attention as she recovered from another good shag. She had to admit, she definitely preferred shagging to self-pleasure. There was no substitution for being taken good and hard, especially from behind. <p>"You're the girl." His words didn't make sense to her, and her eyes opened, looking up at him in confusion. He was hovering over her now, staring down at her. He looked stunned, for what reason she couldn't possibly imagine. </p><p>"I'm what girl?" She asked him, confused. </p><p>Draco let his fingers trace over the evidence, playing connect the dots with her freckles. "You're the girl from the masquerade ball. You're my mystery slag."</p><p>Hermione's eyes went wide. "Your what?" she questioned him, offended by his choice of words. "I beg your pardon?"</p><p>"Don't act like you don't know what I mean. You said you were sick, and then you came to the ball anyway, and then you let me bang you in a dusty old classroom!" Honestly, he never would have thought she'd have that in her. "Bloody sneaky witch." He laughed.</p><p>"I-" she let out an indignant huff. "Well, it's not like… I'm not the one who hooked up with a random nameless, faceless stranger!" She pushed back against the bed and out from under him, sitting back against her elbows. He sat up, kneeling over her waist to let her up. </p><p>"No," Draco agreed. "No, you knew it was me. You practically threw yourself at me." </p><p>Hermione hated the smug look on his face. He was enjoying this far too much for her liking. "Yes, well, I didn't want to give you the satisfaction. It wasn't about you. I just saw an opportunity… Could have been anyone."</p><p>"An opportunity for another roll in the sack with me, huh?" Draco asked. "Is that why you were with that Ravenclaw?" The more he thought about it, the less amusing it was. When he'd found her, she was being roughed around by that prick. Draco moved off of her, sitting up on the bed beside her instead. "You were going to hook up with that Ravenclaw!"</p><p>"I was not!" Hermione denied indignantly. "I was trying to get away from him."</p><p>"Yeah," Draco agreed sarcastically. "Well what were you doing with him alone in that corridor in the first place?"</p><p>Hermione couldn't believe he was questioning her about this, much less his truly horrible timing. They’d only finished shagging not two minutes ago! "I just… I felt like a snog, okay? But I was never going to let it go any further. That's what upset him."</p><p>"You felt like a snog, so you, with no idea how he was going to act, put yourself, and our child, in a dangerous situation with a complete stranger." Draco's words were harsher now. He'd felt an instinct to protect the mystery girl, but it was nothing to how he felt now, replaying the scene in his head, this time with the knowledge that it was Hermione's wrist he'd bruised, Hermione who he was harassing because he didn't like the word "no".</p><p>"Draco, I think you're really overreacting here. I didn't sneak off to a hidden corner with the guy. We were in the middle of a well lit corridor where anyone could find us. Thus you finding us!" </p><p>"Well you've got no business hooking up with random blokes while you're-"</p><p>"I can hook up with whomever I like," Hermione said indignantly. "And I can kick them out of my bed just the same, starting now." She pulled one leg forward and slammed it against his side.</p><p>"Ow! Are you bloody kidding me?" She was actually kicking him out of her bed, literally! Draco moved out of range of her foot, and then off the bed altogether. </p><p>"I'm not going to sit here and let you insult me because you're jealous that I kissed another boy!" She couldn't believe he was being so petty. </p><p>"Yeah, well, maybe I am jealous. Maybe I don't like seeing you, the mother of my unborn child, with other men. Maybe after my birthday I thought we had started something, with your cheeky little note. Did it ever occur to you that I might, I don't know, like you?" Draco finished his tirade as he stepped back into his pants roughly. </p><p>"No," Hermione stated defiantly. "It most certainly did not occur to me." She was out of the bed now as well, pulling on her bathrobe. She didn't feel like being naked in front of him any longer.</p><p>"Because I'm incapable of real human emotion," Draco presumed in accusation. "Therefore I can't possibly be capable of developing feelings for someone. Especially not after she spent month after month treating me like I don't deserve to be breathing the same air as her."</p><p>Hermione tied her robe around her middle tightly. "Yes I'm sure you've been very put out by my rejection. And I suppose all the girls you bring to your bed are there to comfort you?" </p><p>"So what if they are?" Draco asked hotly, pulling his shirt into place. "I'm supposed to go celibate because you won't give me the time of day? I'm supposed to let my bullocks shrivel up and die because you don't want me?"</p><p>"No, you're supposed to-" Hermione huffed angrily, not sure what she expected from him. "You're supposed to try harder!" If he cared about her, if he had an invested interest in her he shouldn't want to hook up with other girls. He should be doing everything in his power to woo her. </p><p>"You want me to try harder?" The audacity. She was the one who pushed him away every chance she got. He was the one who kept pushing back, trying to break down her walls. "You're-" he pointed an angry finger in her direction. "You're bloody infuriating, you know that?" He raked his fingers through his hair, messing it aggressively in his frustration. "I just agreed to sacrifice my inheritance, my blood status, my very name for you and you stand there and tell me I need to try harder?" He laughed hysterically.</p><p>Hermione was stunned. She just thought he was doing those things for their daughter. It never occurred to her that she was part of his reasoning. Not in a romantic context. Hadn't he just told her he wouldn't disrespect her by declaring false love for her? She wrapped her arms around herself, around her belly. “You really want me to believe you have feelings for me?” she asked quietly.</p><p>Draco sighed. “I can’t for the bloody life of me figure out why. You drive me up a fucking wall,” he told her irritably. “But yes.”</p><p>Hermione shifted her weight, staring at her feet as she thought about that. Did she want him to want her? It was certainly ideal, in theory, for a child's parents to be together, but only if that relationship was healthy for all parties. She certainly wasn't going to maintain a relationship that didn't bring her happiness just because they shared a child. And what kind of a relationship would that even be, based on a drunken one-night stand?</p><p>"Are you going to say something?"</p><p>Hermione looked up at Malfoy. He was fully dressed now, and looking annoyed as ever. She had no idea how long she'd been silently thinking on his words. "I'm not just going to be your girlfriend," was what came out when Hermione opened her mouth. "I don't know what it is you expect me to do."</p><p>Draco gave her a surprised look. "I-" He hardened slightly, feeling vulnerable now that he'd made his confession. It wasn't a declaration of love, no, but of… like, and it was still a difficult thing to admit. "I expect you to try harder." It probably didn't feel nice to have those words turned around on her. "I expect you to let me in. Let me be here for you, and for the baby, especially since no one else is." Which was only her fault to begin with, keeping it a secret like she was. </p><p>"Just because I let you shag me does not mean I trust-"</p><p>Draco interrupted her. "Yes, why do you keep shagging me?" He asked, taking a step towards her. She took a step back. "All this time you keep treating me like the dog shit in your shoe, and yet you've thrown yourself at me, twice." Hermione blushed furiously, and he continued his advance. "In fact I'm willing to bet you threw yourself at your Bulgaria boy-toy when he had you, right here in this bed." He tapped the mattress, bedsheets askew from their previous activities.</p><p>"Stop it." She was not amused. He was making her sound like some sort of harlot. "I'm not that… easy!"</p><p>"Oh but I think you are," he told her with a chuckle. "And that's not a judgement. There's nothing wrong with wanting sex."</p><p>"I don't-" Hermione paused. That was a lie. She did want sex. She wanted lots of sex, all the time. She sighed heavily. "I'm just so bloody horny all the time! It's the hormones! They're making me crazy!"</p><p>Draco stared at her, surprised, and then laughed. "You're saying that pregnancy is making you horny?" He'd never heard such a thing, but then again he'd never known a girl who'd kept her pregnancy this long. Not without going into hiding until her figure returned.</p><p>"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed angrily. "And it's not funny! It happens to most women, and most of them are fortunate enough to already have a partner to help!" </p><p>Draco chuckled still and sat partway on the bed, one foot on the floor and one knee bent on the bed. "You know that's not entirely true. I am your partner, as Heads, and I'm the father, which, if you ask me, makes me the perfect candidate to help you with your…"</p><p>"Ugh, you're not- I don't want your-" Hermione growled loudly in frustration. "I don't want casual sex," she told him distinctly. "I don't want to be one of those girls who acts like sex is no big deal. It is a big deal. It is to me, anyway."</p><p>"And yet you've let a low-life like me inside of you three, technically four times," Draco pointed out crudely. </p><p>Hermione blushed again. "Better one guy four times than four guys," she pointed out. </p><p>Draco wondered if she realized that she'd just made his point for him. "Exactly! So, the next time you're feeling all hormonal and horny…"</p><p>"You want me to come to you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, that would be convenient for you, wouldn't it?"</p><p>"You see!" Draco exclaimed, pointing at her. "That, right there! You'd actually rather torture yourself than let me take care of your need."</p><p>"So which is it, Draco!" Hermione shouted back at him. "Do you have feelings for me, or do you just want to use every trick in the book to get me in the sack?"</p><p>"Well this may be hard to believe, Granger, but in addition to having feelings for you, I also would like very much to keep fucking you. Crazy, I know!"</p><p>"And what if I don't believe you?!" Hermione shouted, and then shrank down a bit at the stunned look on his face. "What if I don't know how to trust a single word that comes out of your mouth?" She spoke calmly this time. "What if I'm scared that you're just going to take advantage of me and disappear when the baby is born?"</p><p>Draco sighed. Her concerns were valid. Up until this year he'd not been good to her. It was easier to be cruel, to hate her and make her hate him back. Not hating her, now that was hard. "What can I do? Tell me. I'll do it."</p><p>Hermione could tell he meant it, at least she thought he did, she just didn't know the answer. "Well for starters you'll have to stop shagging other girls. No more flirting with everything in a skirt. Not even if they flirt first." </p><p>Draco sighed, but nodded, crossing his arms over his chest to show he was taking her seriously. "Alright, done. What else?" </p><p>"Well…" Hermione thought for a moment. "I'm going to be telling my friends soon. It's been long enough, I need them to know the truth."</p><p>"Long overdue if you ask me," Draco told her. "What's that got to do with me?" </p><p>"I just… can't have you engaging in any sort of confrontation with them, okay? If Harry, or Ron, come around and want to start something, which they likely will, you can't bait them. If you're going to be in our lives you're going to have to learn to get along with them, whether they like it or not, and whether you like it or not."</p><p>Draco sighed. "So your boyfriends are going to come pick a fight and you want me to just let them?"</p><p>Hermione sighed and dropped her hands. "No, of course not, I'm going to demand they be on their best behavior as well. I just know them well enough to know they won't. They'll test you, and you can't fall for it. I mean it. You have to be the bigger person. It's the only way they'll ever learn to, eventually, respect you."</p><p>Draco nodded. "So I can't tell them how good a time I had getting you pregnant?" he said. "Or how good you taste? Or how hot it makes me when you moan my name?" He moved off the bed, taking another step toward her.</p><p>Hermione blushed furiously. "Yes, exactly, none of that." He was too close now, and she had half a mind to push him away. It was hard to breathe with him this close.</p><p>"Or how tight you get when I'm taking you from behind and you cum like a fountain?"</p><p>"Draco!" Hermione shouted in annoyance, face red with embarrassment.</p><p>"Sorry," Draco said, not sorry at all. "Just getting it out of my system." He let his shoulders drop into a softer stance, and placed his hands on the back of her thighs and leaned back against the bed, pulling her forward slightly as he did so. “So that’s no shagging, or flirting, or anything in-between, with other girls, and no fighting with your friends. Anything else?” He looked up at her, and when Hermione looked down and caught his gaze her breath caught in her throat. Had his eyes always been so silver?</p><p>Hermione would never in a million years admit that she liked it when he touched her. Even just the smallest, meaningless touch, like holding her by the back of the thighs as he was doing now, staring up at her with such longing, made her feel… desirable. It wasn’t something she was used to feeling. It wasn’t the same as lust. It made her heart flutter, not her lady parts. But he was expecting an answer, and she was lost in his molten stare. Her mouth opened with the intention of answering, but she hadn’t thought of any words yet. “She’s very demanding,” Hermione finally thought up. “Now that I’ve stopped purging everything that goes into my mouth she makes the most outrageous demands. Fulfilling those needs is your job now.”</p><p>The corner of Draco’s mouth pulled up into a smirk. “Is that so? So that’s like, ice cream and pickles at two in the morning, right? Things like that?”</p><p>“Yes,” Hermione said with a curt nod. </p><p>“Alright,” Draco agreed with a grin. “What else. Come on, lay ‘em on me.”</p><p>Hermione thought this might be fun, having Draco fawning over her, fulfilling her every demand, working his ass off to prove his interest in her. He’d get bored with it, she was sure of it, but it might be nice in the meantime. “There’s one more thing,” she told him, and bit her lip, debating if she wanted to say what was on the tip of her tongue. It was a big ask, compared to the others, and she didn’t want him to take it the wrong way. “I need you to sleep with me.”</p><p>Draco’s brow furrowed. “Pretty sure I’ve already made it clear I have no problem doing that.”</p><p>“No,” Hermione said, looking up and away from him for a moment while her leg bounced nervously. She took a deep breath and looked back down at him. “I… I don’t sleep well, alone. Last year I had Harry and Ron, and when we returned home and went back to sleeping separately, it… I just don’t like it, okay?” She didn’t want to tell him she had nightmares sometimes, about the war. That was, when she wasn’t dreaming of Malfoy going down her, which was a whole other problem. </p><p>Draco stared up at her for a moment, reading her. He didn’t know if she was aware how much her shield had slipped just then, but he got a good peek behind it, at her vulnerability. “Hey,” he smoothed his hands up and down the back of her thighs in what was meant as a comforting gesture. “If you need a warm body wrapped around you at night, you’ve got it.” He didn’t hate cuddling. Most men didn’t, they just acted like they did because it didn’t seem manly.</p><p>“It’s not-” His hands felt nice on her skin, and she could feel gooseflesh rising where his hands had been. “I don’t necessarily want to be held, I just don’t want to be alone.” She didn’t hate the idea of being held, in fact she definitely preferred it, but she thought that might be rushing it, just yet. She’d rather work up to that kind of intimacy. Plus, seeing whether or not he could keep his hands to himself, that was a test all in itself.</p><p>Draco nodded, and slid his hands up to rest on her hips. “I would be honored to be your bedtime companion,” Draco told her, and then smirked. “Just don’t be offended when you wake up with a stiffy in your back. It’s completely out of my control, can’t be helped.”</p><p>Hermione’s jaw dropped, and she smacked his shoulder, a smile playing reluctantly on her lips. She was asking for trouble, she knew that she was, but he was the baby’s father, and maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t completely full of hippogriff dung. Maybe he did have an invested interest in her, and being a family. Wouldn’t that be an unexpected turn of events?</p>
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          <p>So, earlier in the week I predicted that I would not have this chapter ready today because of my move (taking place this weekend) unless by some miracle. Well apparently miracles happen because I got this chapter and the new chapter for Regrettable finished in time, AND I've already started work on next weeks chapters for both stories respectively. YAY!</p><p>Please comment your likes, dislikes, predictions, suggestions, etc, etc! This story, and their relationship, is starting to pick up speed!</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
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</div>The next week was one of the most painful weeks of Hermione’s life. The first person that she invited over to talk was Ginny. It took her quite a while to get the news out. Ginny didn’t normally intimidate her, but this? Telling her that the big secret she’d been keeping all these months was a baby? That intimidated her quite a bit. She finally just had to say it, the words bursting out of her so suddenly that Ginny nearly choked on her water. It’d taken a lot of explaining, a lot of denying the names of possible fathers that Ginny listed off. She wasn’t ready to tell her who the father was. She knew she’d have to eventually, especially now that she was letting Malfoy… prove himself. <p>For the last five days Draco had been sleeping in her bed, no contact, with a wall of pillows between them. It was soothing all the same, just the presence of another person in the room while she slept. He was helpful. He was supportive. He was perfect. It was disturbing.</p><p>It was Friday evening, and Hermione had insisted Draco stay in his own dorm because Harry and Ron had agreed to come visit. It was time to bite the bullet, tell them the truth. Once they knew, well, it would be so much easier for everyone else to know. It was after dinner, and Hermione was pacing her dorm, waiting for their arrival. She’d given them specific instructions on where to locate her dorm, telling them it was just near the library, and then reminding them where the library was. It was quarter after seven when at last there was a series of excited knocks.</p><p>Hermione braced herself, ensured that her glamour charm was still in effect, and opened the door. She was taken aback by the intensity with which they hugged her, each of them clinging to her as if they hadn’t seen her in years. She pulled herself back, trying not to let her overgrown stomach press against them. She didn’t want them to find out the same way Draco did. She wanted to be able to tell them the truth first and foremost.</p><p>“Alright, that’s enough you two. I need air.” She pulled away and went over to the couch, sitting on the end. Harry sat on the couch beside her, and Ron in the nearby chair. “So… How’s the auror training going?” Now that they were in the same room with her, she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it. Or maybe she just needed to ease into it.</p><p>“Training is great!” Ron told her enthusiastically. “We’re learning all sorts of cool stuff. Lots of defensive magic that they don’t teach here, for obvious reasons.”</p><p>Hermione smiled, glad to hear Ron’s enthusiasm. “Who’d have thought you’d ever actually enjoy learning,” she teased him.</p><p>“Yeah, well, this is interesting, isn’t it?”</p><p>“It’s different, though,” Harry added. “Without you.”</p><p>“You just say that because you have to do all your own homework,” she teased with a grin.</p><p>“That’s… not entirely without warrant,” Harry agreed with his own grin. He turned himself to face her on the couch, stretching his arm across the back of it. “But Mione, I thought… I thought you asked us here to talk about you. About…”</p><p>“About how I ran away,” Hermione sobered, nodding slowly as she began to play with the hem of her pants. “And why…”</p><p>“Yeah,” Ron added. “I mean, we don’t understand what happened. One day everything was fine and the next you were just… gone. No explanation. No warning.”</p><p>“We were devastated.”</p><p>“Mum was devastated,” Ron added pointedly. </p><p>Hermione frowned, nodding still. “I know, and I’m very sorry about that. I never meant to hurt you, any of you. You know I love you all, like family.”</p><p>“So why?” Harry needed to know. </p><p>Hermione looked up, at Harry, then at Ron, and then back down at the hem of her pant leg. “I did something… Something I’m not particularly proud of. And I know, alright, I know that I should have just told you all, I just… I didn’t know how.”</p><p>Harry and Ron looked at each other, frowning, and back at Hermione. “So are you going to come out and tell us, or what?”</p><p>Hermione looked up at Harry, took a deep breath, and looked at Ron again. Quick like a bandaid. It was the best way. “The night I left I’d just found out I was pregnant.”</p><p>Harry and Ron stared at her, then at each other, and both began to laugh nervously. “Very funny,” Ron said, not ready to accept Hermione’s confession.</p><p>Hermione sighed, looking over at Ron sadly. “Unfortunately, I’m not joking. It’s true.”</p><p>“You were pregnant?” Harry asked her, looking as puzzled as he sounded.</p><p>“I am pregnant, Harry,” Hermione corrected, slightly offended by his implication that she no longer was.</p><p>“But…” Harry looked Hermione over. “You don’t look pregnant. I mean, to have found out in June, you’d have to be at least-”</p><p>“Twenty-three weeks,” Hermione told him, not wanting him to strain himself with the math. "And I've been using a glamour charm. Its just easier that way."</p><p>“Twenty-three… But, who?” Harry looked over at Ron with a raised eyebrow. </p><p>“Don’t bloody look at me!” Ron said in aggravation, looking over at Harry with an accusatory stare. </p><p>“Well I know you’re not certainly thinking-” Harry let out a shocked laugh. </p><p>Hermione watched the two turn on each other and rolled her eyes. “Oh both of you, honestly!” she interjected. “For the record I haven’t had sex with either one of you."</p><p>They turned their accusatory stares back to her, both of them softening to looks of concern and confusion.</p><p>"But you had sex with someone," Ron pointed out, jealousy evident in his voice. "You going to tell us who?"</p><p>Hermione sighed. "As a matter of fact I am not."</p><p>Harry looked startled. "What? Hermione, you can't just tell us something as huge as the fact that you're having a baby and not tell us who it's with!" he argued.</p><p>"I can and I will. At least until the time comes when I feel you're ready to handle the information."</p><p>"Handle the information? What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, offense heavy in his voice.</p><p>"What it means, Ronald," Hermione started it with a deep breath. "Is that I've had a hard enough time coming to terms with how this is going to change my entire life without having to concern myself with what the two of you are going to do to the father when you find out who he is."</p><p>Harry scoffed. "What do you think we're going to do? Beat him up?" </p><p>"Yes," Hermione answered. "That's exactly what I think you're going to do."</p><p>Ron and Harry exchanged looks. "Well whoever this guy is probably deserves it. Where is he? Is he helping? Is he involved?"</p><p>"Does he even know?"</p><p>Hermione sighed. "He knows. And he's as involved as I want him to be."</p><p>Ron crossed his arms angrily, leaning back in his seat. "So what? You guys are like a couple? You and your baby-daddy?" He asked bitterly. </p><p>Hermione felt bad. She could hear how upset Ron was by the idea of her with someone else, but he must have realized by now that whatever they thought they had between them, it just didn't seem to be happening. At least maybe now he'd understand that that wasn't his fault, it was hers. "Not a couple, no. We're just… two people who are having a child together," she tried to explain.</p><p>"Two people who've-" Ron shook his head and turned to Harry. "And you're just okay with this?"</p><p>"Excuse me!?" Hermione snapped, getting up off the couch and beginning to pace the room. "You both need to understand that I am a young, single, adult woman, who is perfectly entitled to have sex with whomever I want, whenever I want!"</p><p>"I didn't even say anything," Harry defended, not appreciating being lumped in with Ron right this moment. </p><p>"But you both think it, don't you? You expect me to be perfect, and sweet, and chaste. But I'm not perfect, and I'm not particularly nice, and I'll have you both know that I've been in multiple beds with different men and it's absolutely none of your business!"</p><p>"Hermione!" Harry was shocked. Not only because she was correct in thinking that he never saw her as a sexual being, but also because of the crass way she was throwing it in their faces now. "So, what? You've just been going around-"</p><p>"Don't do that," Hermione warned from where she stood behind the couch. "Don't you try to shame me. I haven't done anything wrong."</p><p>"Right," Ron piped in, pouting angrily. "That's why you felt the need to run away in the middle of the night. Because you did nothing wrong."</p><p>Harry sighed. Ron wasn't being very helpful. "Is that really the only reason you left? Because you found out you were pregnant?"</p><p>Hermione crossed her arms over her stomach. "I didn't know how to tell you. I panicked. I was embarrassed, and ashamed. Not because I had sex, it wasn't the first time, or the last, but because… I was stupid enough to not be careful. There was no excuse for my recklessness, not even the excess of fire whiskey consumed that night…" she frowned.</p><p>"Fire whiskey? You mean to say that some guy got you drunk and knocked you up?" Harry asked angrily. </p><p>Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, leaning forward against the back of the couch. "I got myself drunk," she informed them. "And despite my blood-alcohol level, I can assure you it was completely consensual."</p><p>"This is bullshit," Ron snapped, sitting forward toward them. "You expect me to believe that you just went off and got drunk one night and hooked up with some random guy?"</p><p>Hermione looked over at Ron in surprise, standing straight again. "First, he wasn't all that random. And second, as opposed to what, Ron? What part of that do you believe is a lie?"</p><p>"All of it," Ron snapped.</p><p>"Ron…" Harry warned, but it fell on deaf ears. </p><p>"I think you've been getting busy right behind my back. So who was it then?" He turned an accusatory stare on Harry again, getting up out of the chair. "Not enough for you to be hooking up with my sister? Been getting it in with my girl too?"</p><p>"I am not your girl, and I've already told you Harry and I never!" Hermione argued at the same time that Harry leaned forward and said, "Ron you know that Hermione are I are just friends. I love Ginny!"</p><p>"That's what you want me to think, isn't it? So if not Harry, then who?" Ron got up out of the chair, stalking towards Hermione, who remained stationary, refusing to be intimidated by his jealousy. "A little pick-me-up shag for George? Charley was home for quite a while, we know how you like older men-"</p><p>"That's enough, Ron!" Harry bellowed, getting off the couch to get between them, but Ron wasn't finished.</p><p>"Who are all these other guys, Hermione? Who have you been sneaking off to shag? Krum? McLaggen? Oh I know, let's see, when you get really bored you go looking for Slytherins to spread your legs-"</p><p>Harry couldn't stand to listen to another word of Ron's verbal assault on their friend. He acted without thinking, without making the conscious choice to do so, and swung his fist hard until it collided painfully against Ron's face. The right hook caught Ron under the left eye, busting his cheek and bruising his eye almost instantly. Ron fell back a few steps, clutching his face. </p><p>"Fuck!" He knew he deserved it, but it hurt like hell.</p><p>Hermione was seething. She'd have to remember to thank Harry later. She knew Ron was baiting her, and it hurt, and she knew that the fastest way to hurt him back, in this case, was to tell him the truth. "Yes, in fact. Draco Malfoy," Hermione told him, clenching and unclenching a fist. She would have hit him too, if Harry hadn't beat her to it. "I'm having this baby with Draco Malfoy."</p><p>"Hermione, that's not funny," Harry scolded her as he shook out his hand, thinking she was only saying that to bother Ron, which was true, even if she wasn't actually lying.</p><p>Hermione sobered a little. Ron's glare was dangerous, and his face a deeper shade of red than the pillows on her couch, the bruise forming under his eye made him look that much scarier. But there was no point in taking it back now. Instead she took a couple of steps away from both of her friends. "I'm not being funny…"</p><p>Harry turned to face Hermione as she retreated. "Of course you are," Harry insisted. "Because if you're not, that means that you're saying you're having that baby with Malfoy, and that…" he laughed nervously. </p><p>"Harry…" Hermione shifted her weight. </p><p>"No." Ron shook his head. "Not him."</p><p>"Yes. Him." She leaned into the wall by her bedroom door. "Merlin, it's not like I'm in love with him or anything. It didn't mean anything." She let out a heavy sigh. "There. Now you know."</p><p>A heavy silence filled the room. After a moment's hesitation, Hermione took out her want and cancelled her glamour charm. A second later the roundness of her stomach was revealed, showing off not only the increased size of her belly, but her chest as well.</p><p>"This is real, guys…" Hermione said, standing up a little straighter, one hand supporting her back, the other smoothing over her stomach. "I'm having a baby. I'm having it with Malfoy, even if he wouldn't be my first pick of a partner, and his level of involvement is still to be determined. I'm due at the end of February, and… it's a girl."</p><p>"Merlin, this is… Unreal," Harry said, taking in the sight of her. </p><p>"You two are welcome to be her loving uncles. Her Sirius and Remus," Hermione spoke mostly to Harry, appealing to the sentiment of the male figures he'd lost. </p><p>"You fucked Malfoy." It was all that was running through Ron's head. Hermione had been so careful with him, so prudish. He'd thought for sure she must be a virgin. He never would have believed how wrong he was if he wasn't seeing the evidence of it now. </p><p>"Yes, Ron, I did," Hermione told him impatiently. "And I'm sorry if that bothers you but there's no undoing it now. I might have owed you an explanation for running off like I did but I don't owe you one for the choice I made that night, or any other night spent with him or anyone else."</p><p>Harry was still struggling to wrap his head around the whole thing. "How? I mean, when?"</p><p>Hermione sighed, and blushed a little. "Well… you guys know how little I care for quidditch…"</p><p>"You didn't come home that night," Harry remembered suddenly. "The night of the quidditch game. You went out that day and didn't come back until the next morning."</p><p>"That's right," Ron remembered to. "So while we were playing that scrimmage match-"</p><p>"Actually Ron I think by the time we got our room for the night it was long after your little match," Hermione interrupted harshly. She was still rather angry with him.</p><p>"Hermione..." Harry criticized, expecting her to rise above Ron's typical petty behavior. "Would you at least tell us… why?" It wasn't any of their business, but he was asking, as her friend, wishing to make sense of it all.</p><p>Hermione was scowling at Ron now, she turned it off as she turned her head to face Harry. "Well, like I said, there was a lot of drinking involved, and we were… having fun. Sex just seemed like… an even more fun way to end the night, I guess."</p><p>"A more fun way…" Ron was really getting on Hermione's nerves now. </p><p>"Yes, Ron! We were drunk. We were dancing, and laughing, and enjoying each other's company. Our blood was pumping and we were aroused, okay? So we got a room and we shagged, a lot. And it was great! And you know what's more? It's not even the only time!" Ron looked like he might explode, which only served to egg her on more. "We've snogged on that couch," she said, pointing to the furniture. "And we shagged in that bed just last week," she pointed towards her bedroom. "Shagged Krum in there too, actually, couple months ago."</p><p>"Alright, Hermione, I think he gets the point!" It was painful for Harry to watch, and he wasn't sure how much more Ron could take. "We understand, you're a sexually liberated woman. You can stop with the details."</p><p>Hermione turned on Harry this time, perhaps without justification, but she was on a roll. "You men are such hypocrites. It's all praise and high-fives when one of you gets a little action, but when a woman does it, bring on the shame. She's a slag, she's a whore, she's spreading her legs for this bloke or that. Newsflash! I don't spread my legs for any man, I do it for me! I shag in service to no one but myself!" She placed her hand back on her stomach as a sudden stabbing pain hit her. She winced. "And I don't need a man to get me off, either," she continued stubbornly, even as the pain was felt again.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
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</div>"Mione?" Ron looked her over, and his face went from red to pale. "Are you alright?"<p>Hermione buckled as the pain continued, and reached out to clutch Harry's arm. "No, arsehole, I'm not alright! Do I look alright?" she snapped. </p><p>"I'm going to get Pomfrey," Ron declared nervously, heading for the door. Harry took hold of Hermione and guided her back to the couch. </p><p>"Something's wrong," Hermione whispered urgently to Harry as he laid her back. She saw the door close behind Ron. </p><p>"What do I do?" Harry asked helplessly. </p><p>"Get Draco," Hermione answered. Harry hesitated. "Harry, please. Just knock on that door. He's in there." She pointed toward the door separating the two dorms, and Harry looked over, confused. </p><p>Harry crossed the room and, after a moment's hesitation, knocked. It made a short hollow sound.</p><p>"You have to open that door, and knock on the door behind it," Hermione elaborated impatiently. "Ow." She groaned and leaned back until her head hit the cushion. It was just the stress, she'd gotten too worked up, she was sure, but it was better safe than sorry. She couldn't take any risks. </p><p>It was the exact fight she'd been avoiding all these months, but at least now she had had time to think about things. She and Malfoy had developed some semblance of a plan. It wasn't the most romantic of pillow talk, but at least it was a chance for them to talk, late at night when their minds were otherwise clear. </p><p>Harry knocked on the door behind the door, and after a moment Draco answered. He clearly hasn't expected his raven-haired rival to be the visitor. He crossed his arms over his chest in a bored manner, having expected this day would come.</p><p>"Alright, Potter, let's have it then," he said, prepared for the confrontation.</p><p>"Not now, Malfoy. It's Hermione. Something's wrong. The baby!" Harry urged.</p><p>Draco's eyes went wide, and he nearly pushed Harry out of the way to get to her side. "What's wrong? What happened?" </p><p>"I don't know," Hermione told him as he sat on the edge of the couch beside her. "It hurts. It's probably just the stress. Ron went to go get Pomfrey."</p><p>"Brightest move he's ever made," Draco commented. He placed one hand on the swell of her stomach, the other caressed her cheek.</p><p>Almost immediately at his touch the stabbing, cramp-like pain began to ebb away. Hermione let out a relaxed sigh, her body going limp against the couch as she calmed. She was starting to feel better already.</p><p>Harry watched the scene unfold in disbelief. "Un-fucking-real," he muttered, mostly to himself.</p><p>"What's the matter, Potter?" Draco couldn't help himself saying. "Got a problem with a man comforting the mother of his child while in distress?"</p><p>"No," Harry answered sharply. "Just with the fact that it's you."</p><p>Hermione sighed heavily. "I swear to God, you two, don't start." She placed a hand on her own forehead. Where was Ron with that healer already? With her other hand she pointed first at Draco. "Father," she indicated, and then pointed at Harry. "Godfather. Get used to it. I mean it."</p><p>Harry and Draco looked at each other. "Wait, why do you get to choose-" Hermione gave Draco a dangerous look. "Right. Nevermind."</p><p>"You really want me to be godfather?" Harry asked, touched.</p><p>"Of course," Hermione said heavily. "Harry, you're my family." She bit her bottom lip briefly. "Assuming that's what you want."</p><p>"Are you kidding? Hermione, I'm honored. I'm still, you know, shocked, but honored." His second god-child in a year. Who'd have thought?</p><p>Feeling significantly better now, Hermione pushed herself up to sitting. She held herself up with one hand behind her, and the other continued to rest on her stomach. Finally, the door to her room opened, and in came the healer, followed closely behind by Ron. </p><p>"Alright, miss Granger, let's see what the problem is," she said, ushering Draco out of her way. </p><p>"What's he doing here?" Ron asked angrily, eyeing the blond. </p><p>"I'm the father!" Draco pointed out in annoyance. "Or is your memory as shit as your attention span?" He'd heard all the yelling. He knew Hermione had told them the truth. The whole truth. </p><p>"Perhaps a little privacy for mum, gentlemen?" Pomfrey suggested to the three wizards with a sharp gaze. </p><p>"Right, you heard her," Draco said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the auror trainees. </p><p>"Draco!" Hermione scolded. She turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I think I'm alright, honestly. The pain stopped. I think I just got a little worked up." She'd spent a long, long time shaming herself, and she was done with it. She wasn't going to let Ron make her feel like a horrible person just because she chose a sexual partner that he didn't approve of. </p><p>Pomfrey pressed her lips into a thin, disapproving line. “I’d still feel better if I could give you a proper exam.” She turned to Harry and Ronald “My hospital has seen quite enough of you too. I think just Miss Granger for this one.”</p><p>Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Harry elbowed him in the side. “She’s right. We should get going. I’ll write you soon,” Harry told Hermione with a smile.</p><p>Hermione got off the couch and gave each of her two friends a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Bye, Mione,” Ron said with a frown. The visit hadn’t gone as well as he could have hoped, not that he’d had any idea what to expect. He was still furious to even think about the fact that she and Malfoy had ever so much as kissed, much less so much more, but he was glad that she wasn’t in any greater trouble.</p><p>Hermione held onto her stomach as she watched them leave. “You’re not really going to make me walk all the way to the hospital, are you?” she complained, not feeling up to quite that big a task.</p><p>“Well, I supposed I can examine you here,” she conceded after a moment of consideration. “Mister Malfoy, you can go,” she dismissed the remaining male.</p><p>“I don’t want to.”</p><p>Both mother and healer turned to look at him. “I’ve missed enough. It’s my kid and I want to stay here to be sure she’s alright.</p><p>Pomfrey looked at Hermione pointedly, and the younger witch blushed. She had never admitted the paternity of her child to the opinionated older woman. “It’s okay,” she agreed. “He can stay.” </p><p>Pomfrey shrugged and opened the bag she’d brought with her. “Right, well then, on your back, shirt up,” she instructed. “If you’d like to make yourself useful, you can go get her a glass of cold water.”</p><p>Draco realized that she was speaking to him, and hurried off to go do just that.</p><p>Later that evening, Hermione took down the pillow wall, turning on her side to face Draco. “Thank you, for being there for me tonight,” she said after a moment of awkward silence.</p><p>Surprised by the sentiment, Draco turned onto his side to face her as well. “I’m just glad you’re both okay. You shouldn’t be getting yourself all worked up like that,” he criticized because he cared.</p><p>“I know,” Hermione admitted. “But sometimes those boys can be so…”</p><p>“Stupid? Stubborn? Childish? Incapable of-”</p><p>“I was going to say sexist,” Hermione interrupted, shaking her head with a smile. “Half the time they were angry that you’d taken advantage of me, and the other half they were upset that I had the audacity to have a meaningless fling. Either I’m a victim, or I’m a slag. Merlin forbid I just be a person with normal physical needs.”</p><p>“I absolutely agree,” Draco told her. “I’m in full support of you expressing your need for physical release.”</p><p>Hermione laughed. “You’re only saying that because you want to be the one to assist,” she called him out.</p><p>Draco laughed as well. “You’re not wrong.” He propped himself up on one arm. “You know, it was really cool being able to see the baby today, when Pomfrey did that spell. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”</p><p>Unable to stop herself from smiling, Hermione unconsciously mirrored him, propping herself up as well. “I know. The first time she did it I was in total awe. This time we could see everything. Her tiny toes, and tiny fingers.” She was happy to finally have someone to gush about these things with.</p><p>“I couldn’t believe how much she looked like a…” He couldn’t quite find the word.</p><p>“I person?” Hermione guessed. “Yes, Draco, she’s a baby. A human baby. Have you never seen a baby before?” she asked with a chuckle.</p><p>“I’ve seen babies before,” he answered, rolling his eyes. “Just not one so small, or so up close.”</p><p>“Well she’s going to be here in a couple of months. I expect it’ll never really feel… real, until then.” Hermione lowered her arm, leaning her head against it as she looked at him.</p><p>“I know…” A moment of silent thought passed over them. “Have you given any thought to names?” he questioned. It might have been a dumb question. Of course she’d thought about names. She was a girl. Most of them had their babies’ names picked out before they’d hit puberty. What he really wanted to know was what names she was considering.</p><p>“I have,” Hermione told him, and then listed off the same names she’d answered Luna with, give or take a few others. </p><p>Draco listened, and with each name she offered he considered paired with the surname Malfoy. He knew she said she wouldn’t be naming the baby Malfoy, but he hoped that by the time she was born he’d have changed her mind. “Gwendolyn,” Draco repeated back to her. “I like that one. I’ve always been fond of Carina, or Cassiopeia,” he mentioned as casually as he could. Truth be told he’d given it thought as well. While he didn’t carry the Black family name, he was fond of the celestial name tradition.</p><p>Hermione, having scored high in her Astronomy classes while she was taking them, picked up on the theme almost immediately. “That’s a tradition for your family, isn’t it? Celestial names? Andromeda, Narcissa, Bellatrix, Draco…”</p><p>“It is,” Draco confirmed. She would be the one to pick up on that so easily.</p><p>“I kind of like Cassiopeia…” Hermione admitted hesitantly. She didn’t want Draco to think he had any say in something as important as the baby’s name, but she had to admit, it had a nice ring. “Cassie…” she tested the shortened name as well, since it was a bit of a mouthful.</p><p>“Yeah?” Draco asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smirk.</p><p>Hermione gave him a warning look. “Don’t get too excited, I certainly haven’t made any decisions just yet.” </p><p>Draco nodded, accepting that for now. “Have you, by chance, made any decisions regarding my offer to find a place for us to-”</p><p>Hermione’s smile faltered. “I do appreciate that you want to put her and I up, I really do. I’m just not so sure if living together is the best option.”</p><p>“Hermione, look at us. We’re living together now. I think it’s a little ridiculous to think that it’s going to be easier to live separately instead of in one place. I know you’re stubborn as all get-out but you’re going to need the help. You can’t tell me otherwise.” He gave her a determined look.</p><p>With a sigh, Hermione rolled onto her back. “I suppose living together wouldn’t be the worst option,” she agreed reluctantly. </p><p>In a bold and spontaneous move, Draco leaned over Hermione, his upper half hovering over hers as he peered down at her with a smirk. “There might of course be other benefits to shacking up,” he told her.</p><p>Hermione’s eyes went wide when he was suddenly partial on top of her, and her heart fluttered with anxious excitement. “Draco…”</p><p>“You’re still going to have needs after she’s born,” he reminded her, leaning in and kissing her neck. Hermione let out the softest whimper, so small he barely heard it. “And I won’t pretend to be okay with other blokes coming in and out of my house,” he added, kissing the other side of her neck. “If anyone’s going to be kissing you,” he began kissing his way up her neck and along her jawline. “Touching you…” His hand moved onto her waist, just at the top of her bump. “Shagging you…”</p><p>Hermione couldn’t take the teasing, and before he could continue with his obvious torment, she leaned in and captured his lips. Damn him for being so bloody charming, and sexy, and for never failing to be attracted to her even as she grew bigger daily. Besides, after all the tension from the day, she could use a little release. She could feel him smirking against her lips, and cursed herself for giving him his way, even as one hand snaked up to tangle into the hair on the back of his head. </p><p>This was what she got for taking down the pillow wall.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Late? Who's late? Not me! He he.... Okay don't hate me. Y'all know I'm going through a MAJOR move right now. I had today "off" which means that I spent it dripping in sweat packing and cleaning and moving the last of my things out of my old place into the new one. If only I had someone to do all the unpacking for me, I'd have more time to write!</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
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</div>Monday morning as Hermione dressed for school she made a rash and brave decision to forgo her glamour charms. She wondered just how quickly, without them, people would notice her bump, and how fast the (albeit true) rumors would begin to soar through the castle. On the way down to breakfast Draco stopped her to make her aware of her oversight, and was shocked to learn it was deliberate. Shocked, and from what she could tell rather pleased as well.<p>At breakfast there were looks, whispering, trying to decide if she was knocked up or if she'd just let herself go. By the end of her first class she could feel eyes on her. In ancient runes class while reaching for an object in a high shelf Hermione held her stomach, and if she'd realized that she had been seen she would have known to expect the events that followed. </p><p>Hogwarts was abuzz with the newest hot gossip; Hermione Granger was up the duff. Who? When? Everyone wanted to know, no one wanted to ask. On the way to dinner one fifth year Slytherin girl smugly told Hermione that she was positively glowing, before walking away with her friends in a roar of laughter. When she arrived at the Gryffindor table Ginny scooted over to make room for her beside her. </p><p>"Have you lost your marbles?" She asked as she was loading her own plate. "Everyone is talking about you. Harry stopped by to see me Friday night freaking out about Malfoy. I’d have come seen you sooner but I’ve been swamped with quidditch practice. Tell me you were messing with them when you told them he-" she quieted her voice. "He's the one who, you know…" </p><p>"Yes," Hermione said quietly, but with conviction. "He is. And Harry and Ron can be as displeased about it as they wish. It doesn't change the facts." She took a large drink from her pumpkin juice.</p><p>"He said you've been shacking up in that dorm of yours," Ginny informed her with a questioning air, which did not go unnoticed. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I've put up a muffliato. You can speak freely."</p><p>Hermione was admittedly impressed with the obvious use of non-verbal magic. "Shacking up is a bit strong. I've let him stay the night, a few times." Every night since she'd made the request, actually, but she wasn't sure she was prepared for that confession. </p><p>"But you have been hooking up?" Ginny tore off a piece of dinner roll and popped it into her mouth, smirking slightly.</p><p>Hermione tried not to smile, the effort of which made her cheeks burn. "When it suits me." She looked away and drank from her glass of pumpkin juice in order to distract from the pinkness coloring her face. </p><p>"Hermione Granger you little slut." </p><p>Hermione's eyes went wide and she nearly choked. "Ginny!" She looked over at her redheaded friend, who was grinning shamelessly. "I am not a slut."</p><p>"Is it true you've shagged Viktor Krum as well?" Ginny asked in challenge to that claim. </p><p>"Well, Harry does have a big mouth, doesn’t he?" Hermione sighed, stabbing at some beans on her plate. "As a matter of a fact I have. And before you start making additional guesses they're the only two." </p><p>“Which came first?” Ginny asked, intrigued, and spearing a bit of butter on her bread before taking another bite. </p><p>“Well, Viktor first, but that was a couple years ago. Then Malfoy. Then Viktor, then Malfoy…” She couldn’t help a smile as she bit into her forkful of green beans. </p><p>“Then Malfoy, then Malfoy, then Malfoy,” Ginny carried on with a grin.</p><p>Hermione laughed. “No, not…” She did the math quickly in her head. There was halloween, and then the night that Draco decided to claim their daughter, and then Friday night, and then once since then. “Actually that accounts for all of them,” she confessed, blushing.</p><p>“I can’t believe you had sex with someone and didn’t tell me!” Ginny stabbed a piece of roast beef on her plate.</p><p>“I can’t believe you thought I’d tell you,” Hermione replied with a grin before biting into her own.</p><p>Ginny took a moment to eat before moving on to her next question, pointing her fork at Hermione as she did so. “So what made you decide to, you know, out yourself?” It was obvious that it was deliberate. Hermione wasn’t doing anything to quell the rumors that had been spreading like wildfire all day. “Just the other day you were pretty resolute in the fact that you didn’t want anyone knowing anything.”</p><p>“Well,” Hermione covered her mouth with her hand to say, and paused to finish the food in her mouth before answering. “After telling Harry and Ron the truth, and getting into a bit of a row, as was to be expected, and letting the identity of the father slip, I figured there wasn’t much left to hide. You know, Harry and Ron know. Luna and Neville know. Hell, George was the first to know and he never said a word to me!” She sighed. She washed down her food with some juice. “Besides, it would have been only a matter of time before everyone learned about him anyway. He wants to be involved. He’s quite determined about it, actually. I think he fancies me, which is…”</p><p>“Strange?”</p><p>“So strange!” Hermione gushed, glad to finally be able to talk about it. “He waits on me hand and foot. I swear I just keep giving him tasks to see when enough is going to be enough. I keep waiting for him to be sick of me but he isn’t yet.”</p><p>“Maybe he’s got a baby-bump fetish,” Ginny proposed with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>Hermione’s jaw dropped. “You are horrible. I’m not talking to you about this anymore.” Even as she turned to her food, she was unable to hide her grin. It was nice, she realized, to have a man’s affection, even if it was a little off-putting some of the time.</p><p>For more than two weeks the school was ignited by the news of Hermione’s baby. Many students were kind about it, offering Hermione help with her bag, and managing her potions for her while she delegated so that she could avoid the fumes. Others were not so nice, making snide comments, slut-shaming, and questioning her about her baby’s father. She found this behavior ironic from one girl in particular who had a reputation for spending her spare time on her knees, but Hermione was too determined to be above it to point that out, not to her face anyway.</p><p>It was the first week of December now, Hermione was officially twenty-eight weeks (she was fascinated and frustrated to learn that gestational age had less to do with conception date and more to do with her previous menstrual cycle, and her count had been two weeks off all along), and officially in her third trimester. As was tradition, the first weekend in December was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Hermione had reluctantly agreed that she would allow Draco to be her escort for the afternoon, to keep an eye on her and the baby. Hermione insisted that she was capable of walking all the way to the village, something she immensely regretted but refused to admit, and by the time they arrived her feet hurt, she needed to use the loo, and her nose was frozen and running incessantly, and that wasn’t even to mention the pain in her back, which was practically a permanent part of her life now. She realized only upon arriving at the first shop on her list that she could have used magic to keep herself warm, and cursed her pregnancy brain for interfering with her logic.</p><p>She first and foremost asked the shop keeper to let her use the loo, and when she was told that the restroom wasn’t available to the public, Hermione was all too prepared to, for the first time, use her pregnancy card on someone who wasn’t Draco. Much to her surprise, however, it was Draco who stepped in.</p><p>“Do you not see who she is? Can you not see that she has a two and a half pound baby dancing on her bladder? She can either let loose on your floor or in your loo. Your choice.”</p><p>Hermione was promptly escorted through the back of the shop, and returned a much warmer, much more relieved mother-to-be. The two of them browsed for several minutes, made a few purchases, and moved on to Hermione’s personal favorite, the book store. Draco didn’t bother trying to keep up with her in there, instead finding an overstuffed chair to wait in that had a clear view of most of the store. He grabbed a magazine and took a gander at the latest gossip while she did her exploring.</p><p>A couple dozen pages in he came across a picture of himself and Hermione. This wasn’t the first article about her that had been published in the last couple of weeks, and her complete refusal to respond to inquiries had the whole community speculating wildly about the paternity of her child. This was the first time, however, that he had been included in that gossip. The picture featured Draco holding a door open for Hermione with one hand, the other resting on the small of her back as she passed through. In the repetition image, Hermione turns to Draco with a smile and says something that can’t quite be made out. In the picture, Hermione’s stomach was circled with a bright yellow circle. </p><p>‘Head Girl, Head Boy, Head Baby?’ the headline of the short article read. “Oh this ought to be good,” Draco muttered to himself, reading on. ‘As the weeks tick away, the country remains lit with excitement over the most scandalous revelation that Hermione Granger, best friend and former lover of Harry Potter-’ Draco snorted a laugh, quite certain that Hermione and Potter had never been lovers. ‘-is indeed in the late stages of what can only be described as a surprise pregnancy. Why? Because until just a couple short weeks ago no one was any the wiser to the heroin’s situation. According to witnesses at Hogwarts school, Granger appeared in the dining hall one morning significantly larger than the day before. The unveiling came with no explanation, and no denial. It is suspected that up until then she had used magic to conceal the truth of her bundle. While Granger has not responded to any invitations to share her story, we’ve managed to make contact with another famous former-beau, Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum. Krum tells Witch Weekly that he has been aware of Granger’s pregnancy for some time now, but had promised to keep her secret at her request. He denies adamantly that he is the father, and comments that he didn’t know, nor was it anyone else’s business to know. However, the question still remains; who’s the daddy? Seemingly obvious candidates Potter and third to their trio Ronald Weasley both remain tight-lipped about what they know, but have made no move to claim the babe. Some students have claimed to believe that Head Boy Draco Malfoy, second generation death eater who was cleared of his charges after a shocking testimony from Harry Potter himself, is the one to father the brood. Sources close to the pair allege that Malfoy has shown significant interest in his Head partner since the start of term, and the two are seen together more and more frequently. Others dismiss this possibility, saying that Malfoy is simply being gentlemanly by caring for the muggleborn, a way of making amends for past sins against her and people of her background. While there’s not yet any way to know the truth, one thing that can’t be denied is the growing affection between the Hogwarts Head students. Could romance really be in the air for Granger and Malfoy? Will he be stepping in to fulfil the much needed paternal role? And will we ever learn the truth behind Hermione Granger’s baby mystery? Check back next week for the latest Granger Baby news!’</p><p>What rubbish. How could one article be so devoid of fact while simultaneously hitting the nail on the head? Draco placed the magazine back on the shelf and looked around to see where she’d gone to. He spotted her easily enough, crouching down to reach for a book. He watched in amusement as she tried a moment longer, before remembering her wand and summoning the copy to her instead.</p><p>By the time they’d left the bookstore Hermione was far too exhausted of being on her feet to continue shopping, so the two headed to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Draco helped her with her coat, and then her chair, before seating himself across from her. They placed their orders, and then Hermione let out a content sigh.</p><p>“I feel like I haven’t been out in ages,” Hermione commented, looking around at all the excited younger students piling in around tables to show off their purchases and fill up on fried foods. “I’m pretty sure the last time was my bi-”</p><p>“Your birthday, yes,” Draco remembered. He’d tried to join her, and it’d not gone well. “You were definitely interested in hating me that day.”</p><p>“Well that was because I still believed about the bet,” Hermione explained simply. “That and I was very annoyed with you.”</p><p>“Well that much was painfully obvious,” Draco told Hermione with a laugh. He thanked his server for his drink and took a long swig. “But out of curiosity what had I done that day to offend you so greatly?”</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling. “Well you were there, mostly. Eating my chips and ordering fish of all things. If I hadn’t gotten out of there as soon as I did I would have chucked all over your platter, I can promise you that.”</p><p>Draco got a hearty laugh out of that. “I never knew you were so offended by food.”</p><p>“Well it was fish!” Hermione insisted. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have every other smell in the world make you want to vomit?”</p><p>“I can’t say I do, no,” Draco told her with a smug grin. “So that’s all? You were upset because you didn’t want to share your food?”</p><p>“Well mostly, yes. That and… I felt her move for the first time that day,” Hermione explained, a little more softly now.</p><p>“And what was so horrible about that?” Draco matched her new tone, calm and reflective. </p><p>“Because she moved the moment you touched me.”</p><p>Draco considered that. He didn’t remember touching her, necessarily, but if she said so. “She likes me, we already know that.” He tried lightening the mood with a smirk.</p><p>Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but there was still the hint of a smile on her lips. “I’m aware,” she agreed grudgingly, holding her mug of pumpkin juice in front of her with both hands. “Of course she’s significantly more active nowadays. Only a couple of months left…” She still couldn’t believe how close it was. She felt terrifyingly unprepared. She hadn’t managed to do any sort of nesting. She didn’t even have a home to take the baby to when it was born. No crib, no clothes, no nappies, nothing!</p><p>He could see the gears turning, Hermione was spiraling into thoughts of worry, panic. Draco reached across the table, taking one of her hands and holding it in his.</p><p>Hermione looked up at Draco in surprise. Almost as if by clockwork, there was an intense sensation of movement inside of her. “She always knows when it’s you,” she told him. “I’m not even sure why she likes you so much!”</p><p>“She’s a daddy’s girl,” Draco informed her matter-of-factly, rubbing her hand with his thumb as he held it. The tender motion caught Hermione’s attention, and she looked down at their joined hands.</p><p>“Draco, do you think this is a date?” she asked him, tempted to pull her hand away, but she didn’t want to insult him on what was, regardless, a very sweet gesture.</p><p>Draco smirked somewhat sheepishly. “I was kind of hoping it could be, since we’re out.”</p><p>“Unbelievable,” Hermione laughed. “You actually thought you could trick me into having our first date?”</p><p>“Our first real date,” Draco corrected her, somewhat. “And I like to think of it as less tricking you and more… surprising you.”</p><p>Hermione mouthed an “oh”. “So it’s a surprise. That must mean you’ve planned something?” she challenged, just to mess with him. “Well what is it then? This surprise of mine? Because in case you’ve forgotten we share meals together every day.” After a long day of classes, the last thing Hermione had the energy for, anymore, was dinner in the communal dining hall. </p><p>“Well, I was thinking about saving this until Christmas, but since you asked…” Draco reached down into one of his bags, and pulled from it a small rectangular giftbox. Hermione’s eyes went wide, and she looked up at Draco urgently.</p><p>“I was kidding. Draco, you-” She shook her head as he opened his mouth to protest in response to her protest. </p><p>“It’s not a big deal. It’s not even what I really planned on getting you for Christmas, just a little something.” Somehow Hermione doubted that there was anything little about whatever was in that little box. Big gifts came in boxes that small. “Just open it.”</p><p>Hermione took the box hesitantly and lifted off the lid. Laying on a bed of cotton filling was a small gold pendant on a chain. The pendant featured three stones, a sapphire, an amethyst, and an alexandrite. Between the three stones the gold setting weaved around them back and forth, meeting at a curved end at the bottom.</p><p>Draco watched as tears formed in her eyes, this time rather proud of the reaction. “You said she’s due in February, right?</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
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</div>“So is it true?” A sixth year Ravenclaw prefect demanded in the middle of their final meeting before leaving for break.<p>Everyone looked not to the speaker, but to the Head students, anxiously awaiting an answer to a question only half asked.</p><p>Hermione was taken aback, her mouth fell open for the shortest moment before she shook off the surprise. “Is what true?” she asked for clarity.</p><p>“Is it really Malfoy’s baby?” As someone who had spent every Friday evening in that room with their student leaders, she was quite offended that it took half the school year for Hermione to admit to her condition, and even more greatly offended still that the prefects hadn’t been told first. They could have used the heads up in order to know how to handle the scandal. Now the latest rumors said that it was the Head Boy who’d done the deed, of all people! She’d done the math, it must have happened over the summer, and yet for months Granger dismissed Malfoy like a fly that just wouldn’t quit buzzing overhead. </p><p>Draco couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t that the idea of being the father was funny, as it was absolutely true of course, but the complete irritation with which the question was posed surely was.</p><p>Hermione gave Draco a sharp look for his amusement, and sighed, setting down the schedule she’d been drafting for the weeks they’d be away, as students would still be in the castle in need of monitoring. “Well I suppose I might as well tell you all…” She could tell that everyone was on the edge of their seat, waiting for the moment when Hermione would drop the biggest bomb their school had seen outside of war. “The father is, in fact…” Okay, now she was just drawing it out for the fun of it. She turned to Draco. “Malfoy.” She tried to contain it, but she couldn’t help laughing as well, covering her mouth with her hand as she attempted to hold it in.</p><p>“I knew it!” one student cried out triumphantly. They began speaking over each other all at once, some naming ways that they “knew” and others asking questions she couldn’t make enough sense of to answer. It was quite a bit overwhelming for the expectant mother.</p><p>“Alright, alright, one at a time,” Hermione insisted. </p><p>“Have you been having us on all this time? Acting like you can’t stand each other?” It was probably a fair question, considering.</p><p>“No, absolutely not. I’ve always found him foul and infuriating,” she told him, smirking slightly because she knew he would take offense.</p><p>“So how did that happen?”</p><p>“Well between the two of us we did drink about half her body’s weight in fire whiskey,” Draco answered that one, for which Hermione shoved his shoulder harshly.</p><p>“Draco!” she scolded him. “Suffice it to say that after the events of recent years we both needed a night to let loose. We just happened to do it in the same place, at the same time… Things happened…”</p><p>“So you made a huge mistake and now you’re having a baby.” The Ravenclaw who’d initiated the topic sounded annoyed, and Hermione didn’t miss the attitude.</p><p>The head girl knew she should have expected that reaction from at least one of them. “You know, I thought that too, for a long time. I was ashamed. I was angry. Mostly at him, but that wasn’t exactly fair. He didn’t do anything I didn’t do as well. I’ve also come to the conclusion that there is a great difference between a mistake and an accident. I may have gotten pregnant by accident, but my child will never be a mistake.”</p><p>Properly put in her place, the Ravenclaw stood down, shrinking back in her seat.</p><p>The fifth year hufflepuff girl was grinning broadly. “So are you two together now? Will you be raising the baby as a family?”</p><p>“There’s still a lot of details to work out, but I think so, yeah,” Draco answered. Hermione gave him a wide-eyed look. After their “date” two weekends prior things had been really nice between them, but she certainly wasn’t ready to call them a couple, even if Witch Weekly had decided so.</p><p>“We’re… figuring that out, like he said.” Truth be told, he’d been a saint of late, but it was very hard to come to terms with. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was too good to be true. They were in a Hogwarts bubble, but what would happen when his family found out what they’d done? “Whatever we agree is in her best interest all around.” </p><p>There was a collective gasp from the group. “It’s a girl?” the hufflepuff asked excitedly. “Have you picked out a name?”</p><p>Draco and Hermione looked at each other. “Should we tell them?” he wondered, awaiting her cue before making an announcement.</p><p>Hermione grinned in reply. “Well, it’s between Carina Gwendolyn Granger,” Hermione told the room.</p><p>“And Gwendolyn Cassiopia Malfoy,” Draco finished with determination. </p><p>“Naturally, I believe that she should have my name, especially with things still up in the air as they are,” Hermione explained. “Whereas the patriarchy has a strong grip on this one, and he believes that the baby should have his name for no more reason than he’s the man.”</p><p>“Not just because I’m the man,” Draco argued with a roll of his eyes. “Because I’m the provider, and father, and I intend to be a partner in the raising of this child.”</p><p>Before Hermione could start what would be a very inappropriate argument in front of so many other students, they were interrupted with another question.</p><p>“So what is your plan? You must be due soon. January, February, if I had to guess. What are you going to do when the baby comes? Surely you’re not planning on keeping it here?” It was a seventh year Slytherin who spoke up, drawing her attention.</p><p>“Actually…” Hermione smiled. “When the time comes I will be leaving Hogwarts, and at that time I will be making my recommendation to the Headmistress for my replacement. One of you seventh year ladies will be the new Head Girl.”</p><p>“One of us?” The Slytherin smiled. “Well that’s fantastic news.”</p><p>The morning that the students were to board the Hogwarts Express back to London for the Christmas holiday, Draco woke before Hermione. As far as he could tell she was still sleeping soundly, lying on her back with one hand under her pillow and the other holding her stomach. She had stripped down to her knickers at some point in the night, always getting overheated at night due to the abundance of blankets she liked to sleep under. At this time her blankets were wrapped around one of her legs. It was not elegant. It was, however, adorable. </p><p>Over the last couple of weeks Hermione had finally begun to let him in. Over Christmas break Draco would be looking into finding a home for Hermione to bring the baby to. He’d also been considering leaving school with her. If McGonagall was going to let her sit her NEWTs later, why couldn’t he? He hadn’t mentioned the idea to Hermione yet, of course. She would have rejected the idea on the spot. He figured it’d be better to have the plan set in place and tell her after the fact. She’d be no better off alone with the baby losing her mind than she would have been dealing with the chaos of school with a baby wrapped to her front.</p><p>He watched her sleep for quite some time before he knew it was time to wake her. She’d need to eat before they left to board the train. He didn’t care much for this part. She hated to be woken, having risen several times in the night to use the loo.</p><p>It occurred to Draco as they arrived in London that he wouldn’t see her for two weeks, and it surprised him how sad this made him. He tried not to think about it. In fact he considered not heading straight home, but in the end he realized that his mother would take it very personally if he didn’t arrive on time.</p><p>It was the longest week of his life, he was sure, but finally it was Christmas, and he was sure he hadn’t seen his mother this happy in a long time. She arranged for a full brunch spread, and when they could no longer fit another bite of food into their mouths they exchanged presents. It was just the two of them this year, but he thought they both preferred it that way, given recent events.</p><p>From his mother Draco received several smaller, practical gifts, such as new wax for his monogrammed letter sealing kit, quills, and his favorite imported emerald ink. </p><p>Draco gave her a bottle of her favorite perfume, along with a special hand-made ornate ornament for her tree. Both gifts had become a tradition for them over the years.</p><p>After thanking him, Narcissa then surprised Draco with silver and pearl cufflinks, as pearl was one of his birthstones, in addition to alexandrite and moonstone. </p><p>"Mum, you really didn't have to," he told her, feeling guilty. He knew that the secret he was keeping from her was a big one, and she was going to be incredibly angry when she learned. Not just because of the secrecy, but because of the gravity of the situation. Accidentally getting a witch pregnant was problematic enough, but for that witch to be a muggleborn, the most famous muggleborn of their generation, it was a whole other level of betrayal.</p><p>Narcissa simply smiled. "Draco, you're growing into a fine young man, and you'll soon begin attending a lot of special events on our family's behalf."</p><p>Draco raised an eyebrow as he closed the small black box the cufflinks had been received in. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"Well you know the family is going to be working hard to fix our image," she exclaimed. "I've arranged for you to represent the family at some charity events this summer and later next year."</p><p>Draco didn't know why that irritated him so badly. Yes, his family name had been dragged through the mud in recent months, but it wasn't as though they hadn't earned that reputation. "So we're going to throw money and a winning smile at the problem," he found himself challenging. </p><p>Narcissa was taken aback by his reluctance. "Well, I was hoping so, yes. While your father is away, we have an opportunity to change the way-"</p><p>"You make it sound like he's on holiday. He's in prison, Mum, and I'll be pleased if he never gets out." He meant that for many reasons, not least of which being the threat he posed against his and Hermione's child, who would be arriving sooner than he could have expected.</p><p>"That's no way to speak about your father," Narcissa said uncomfortably, almost as though he would know if she didn't defend him.</p><p>"Then let's not talk about him at all," Draco proposed instead. "The cufflinks are very nice, whatever the occasion."</p><p>"I thought you'd like them," Narcissa said with a smile. "I know you have a fondness for birthstones." Draco offered her a confused look, not sure what she meant by that. "My other gift?" She reminded him hopefully. </p><p>"What other gift? I already gave you your gifts." She was making no sense to him.</p><p>It was Narcissa's turn to be confused. She took a long drink of her wine and set it down again. "Well I… you bought that necklace… I just assumed…"</p><p>"You've been checking up on my spending?" Draco asked, bothered by the invasive behavior. </p><p>"No, of course not! You used the family vault, I always get a letter whenever certain amounts of money are spent," she explained in a very dignified manner. "I admit I was curious when I saw that the purchase was made at a jewelry store." In order to not see his accusatory stare, Narcissa picked up the latest issue of Witch Weekly, which she'd unsubscribed from long ago but continued coming all the same. She began flipping through it casually. "Does this mean there's a young woman in your life?" she pried.</p><p>Draco sighed. "And what if I was?" </p><p>Narcissa stopped turning the page, eyes scanning over something of interest. "Can you believe that Granger girl went and got herself in trouble?" She changed the subject. "Such a shame, and without a wizard to step up and take responsibility. A muggle boy, no doubt. What must her parents think?"</p><p>Draco rolled his eyes hard. "Well they don't think much as she doesn't currently have any patents to tell, thanks to us."</p><p>Narcissa scoffed. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"</p><p>"It means that she's had to wipe her parents memories and send them abroad to prevent anyone, such as me, or father, or any other marked fool from hunting them down and hurting them?" There was a strong defensiveness in his voice that made Narcissa glance at him over her magazine. She seemed a bit bothered.</p><p>"And you know this how?" It was a pretty specific detail, she was sure something so personal wasn't common knowledge, or else she'd have read of it by now. </p><p>Draco drank deeply of his own wine. "I've been working side by side with the girl every day for four months. It came up." He shrugged. </p><p>"So I suppose you knew she was pregnant then, too."</p><p>Draco could feel that it was coming. He hadn't planned on telling her tonight, he was still hoping he wouldn't have to, but he could feel that there were more questions on her tongue. "I was one of the first to know. By accident."</p><p>Narcissa was quiet for aL moment. “There’s a lot of people speculating that the two of you are something of an item,” she mentioned, just to see what he’d say.</p><p>“I know,” Draco agreed. “People say a lot of things.”</p><p>“They also say you could be the father of her baby, which is ridiculous of course.” She let out a laugh and covered her face with the magazine again, turning the page.</p><p>Draco let out a laugh as well, just for the irony. “Yes, ridiculous. Because I would never stoop so low as to bed a mudblood like her.” The sharpness to his tone made Narcissa look up again. </p><p>“We shouldn’t use that word anymore, Draco,” she informed him rather than scolded him. “And that’s nothing to joke about.”</p><p>“Why? Because she’s not good enough to give me an heir? Or because it’d be the first Malfoy born out of wedlock?”</p><p>Narcissa set the magazine down, the page spread open to an article featuring the very pregnant witch. There was a close up picture of her wearing the birthstone pendant Draco gave her a few weeks prior. “Is that why you bought her the necklace?”</p><p>Draco looked down at the picture. “I suppose we need to talk.”</p>
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          <p>The plot thickens... HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! I spent all day cooking and now I'm stuffed and debating whether or not there's room for pie!</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
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</div>Narcissa's heart dropped with a sudden sense of dread. "No." She shook her head, appalled. "Tell me you haven't, you didn't-" she couldn't finish her own sentence. She tried again. "Tell me you aren't responsible for that baby."<p>Draco could hear the panic in his mother's voice. He could see the gears turning, the metaphorical implosion of centuries of pureblood status, like a gallery of portraits crushing all around her. Her son, a blood traitor. It was everything his family had always sought to protect, and with one shag he'd taken it all away. He covered his mouth with his hands, rubbing them up the bridge of his nose to release tension that was building. "I'm sorry, mother. I didn't mean for it to happen this way."</p><p>"Well you're damn right you didn't mean for this to happen! Draco, how could you? After everything that we-"</p><p>"Everything you what? Taught me? About how being a pureblood makes me better than anyone who isn't? Have you ever seen what that witch can do with a wand?" He'd never raised his voice at his mother before, it made him highly uncomfortable. And yet, he still had more to say. "I'm not better than her. We're not better than her. Not by a long shot."</p><p>Narcissa stared at her son like she'd never seen him before. He'd never spoken to her in that manner. His father would have beat him silly for such a thing if he were not in Azkaban. "You're in love with her," the mother accused.</p><p>Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm not in love with her, mother. I respect her. I like her." It still felt strange to admit such a thing.</p><p>"And what is your plan? You and this Granger girl? What are you doing about this life you've created? Surely you kids have a plan. She looks as though she might pop at any moment." The two gave each other a challenging stare for a moment, in which Draco grew rather stubborn.</p><p>"Well for starters, I'll be finding us a place to live-" Before he could even get the first sentence out she interrupted, eyes wide with shock.</p><p>"You're moving out? Were you ever planning on telling me this or were you just going to never come home from Hogwarts?" He'd not told her about the pregnancy before now, and if she hadn't brought it up she thought he might never.</p><p>"Stop being so dramatic, Mother. What did you think? I'd stay in this house forever? With everything that's happened here?" He hated being at Malfoy Manor anymore. It didn't feel like a home at all. </p><p>"So you're just going to abandon me for that muggle tramp and her kid?" Narcissa huffed angrily. </p><p>Draco was appalled by her outburst. "This isn't about you, Mother. And that kid is your granddaughter. So don't talk about her or her mother in that way."</p><p>"Granddaughter?" The word struck Narcissa, interrupting any further tantrum she was preparing. There hadn't been a female born into the Malfoy line in over a century. "It's a girl? You know that for sure?"</p><p>"Yes," Draco confirmed, glad to have distracted her with that information. "We have a few names picked out, but I'm pushing for Gwendolyn Cassiopeia Malfoy."</p><p>"Gwendolyn?" Narcissa questioned, scrunching her nose in dislike. </p><p>"It's a compromise. She was going to give her her family's name. Can you believe that?" At least he knew his mother would agree with him on one point. "She said she didn't see why the baby should have any name other than hers."</p><p>Narcissa scoffed. "You're not planning on giving the Granger girl your name?" She questioned, a slight warning to her tone. </p><p>"Yes, Mum, I forgot to tell you, we're planning a wedding for late Spring after the baby's born," Draco informed her sarcastically. </p><p>The might gave him a tight lipped stare and sat back, sipping her drink. "That's not something to joke about."</p><p>"Mother, I know you're mad. I wasn't exactly jumping for joy when I found out either. This is happening. I'm moving out. I'm going to raise this child with her. That is my family obligation now." He was no longer just a son, he was a father, and his duty as a father trumped any duty as a son. </p><p>There was a long, painful silence, before Narcissa finished her drink and set her glass down carefully on the coffee table between them. "You're in a relationship with this girl?" she inquired. </p><p>Draco leaned back in his chair, giving his answer careful thought. "We don't hold hands and kiss in public if that's what you mean," he told her. “But I care about her, and she’s… warming up to me. We have a very private, intimate relationship.”</p><p>“Well of course you care for her,” Narcissa said, a little bit snippy. “It’s not like you have a choice.”</p><p>“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Draco asked defensively. </p><p>“It means you weren’t supposed to-” She sighed angrily and rubbed her temple, stress causing a headache to form. </p><p>Draco eyed her suspiciously. She was holding back, not saying something, but whatever it was she’d need more wine to say it. “I know this isn’t what we wanted. It’s not what I wanted either. But she’s my daughter. And Hermione Granger is the mother of my daughter. That means for as long as she’s carrying my child she is my top priority. So, the first thing on my list is to find a place to bring our newborn.” He watched her for a reaction. She seemed equally stubborn, but she was thinking, hard.</p><p>Narcissa didn’t know what to say. Her instinct was to ask why the baby couldn’t come to the manor, but he’d already made his feelings for the manor very clear, and even if she wasn’t a muggleborn, she had been horribly tortured not ten meters from where they sat. No, this was no place for his muggleborn lover or their baby. “Perhaps I can… assist, with finding you a suitable home to raise a child in," she proposed in a tone that was unclear to Draco. It sounded stubborn, but her words didn't match the tone, so maybe it was her attempt at embracing the situation. </p><p>"You want to help me find a place for us to live?" Draco was reasonably skeptical. </p><p>"Well, I did explain that we have a lot of work to do in changing the public's image of our family. Bringing Granger and a halfblood bastard child into the mix certainly will have an effect," Narcissa reasoned.</p><p>"Could you please avoid calling my daughter a bastard?" Draco rubbed his face, exhausted of the topic already. "And I'm not exactly sure how I feel about you using my baby as a publicity stunt. And I can tell you right now what Hermione would think," he said, making a face that said he certainly didn't want to be the one to suggest it to her. </p><p>Narcissa pressed her lips together, understanding his point but not necessarily agreeing. "Whether either of you like it or not, this situation has already received a fair bit of publicity, and I don't imagine they'll be keen to let up any time soon. You'll want to consider if getting ahead of this, owning the narrative, may actually be in your best interest."</p><p>Draco hated to think she might not be wrong. Perhaps owning the narrative around their relationship and family was better than letting the suspicions and rumors run rampant. Convincing his partner of that might take some work, however. "That might not be a terrible idea. But you have to let us take care of that ourselves. Do not go taking that initiative for us. Hermione will not take kindly to you crossing that line, and neither will I," he warned his mother.</p><p>"I swear, I won't get involved." She withdrew her wand and waved it at the silver cart which hosted her wine and Draco's liquor. The wine bottle floated toward her and tipped, refilling her glass before returning to where it came from. "However I do have an acquaintance in real estate. She owes me a favor, and knows how to be discrete."</p><p>Draco nodded, swirling his drink and watching the amber colored liquid splash around. "That would be helpful," Draco agreed. "I'd like to take a look at a few options before the end of break."</p><p>"I'll make it happen." Narcissa nodded once with determination. She was experiencing a mix of emotions. She was going to be a grandmother, with a granddaughter, no less, a thing she never expected. It was fantastic news, if not poorly executed. However, this news came with great burdens as well. Her son was now a blood traitor, their status as a pureblood family wiped away with one poor decision. Lucius would not be pleased. She was glad her sister was not alive to hear of this. The girl would be killed, and Draco punished. But most difficult of all was Narcissa's own role in this. When she cast that spell on her son, she never imagined it would be a muggleborn, much less Potter's best friend, to whom her son would be bonded. What had she done?!</p><p> </p><p>Far across the country, Hermione faced one of her greatest fears, the judgment of the Weasley clan. Of course the youngest of the family already knew, Ron, Ginny, even George, who had shockingly been the first to know. It was the rest of the family she owed an explanation to, and she promised to do just that after dinner, when everyone was in one place, and she wouldn't have to repeat herself.</p><p>When the meal had concluded and the table cleared of all but dessert, Mrs Weasley caught Hermione's eye, and she knew that her time was up. The teen cleared her throat, gathering the attention of all those at the table, and pushed against the back of the chair to help herself to standing. “So, I know everyone here has a lot of questions, and I want to thank everyone here for being polite enough to keep them to yourselves for so long. I want you to know that I love and respect all of you, you are my family. With that said, I guess it’s time to come out with it.” She let out a nervous chuckle and embraced her oversized stomach. “Allow me to introduce you to…” She hesitated and bit her lip, debating, before coming out with it. “Gwendolyn Cassiopeia Malfoy.” She braced herself for the reactions, grateful that Harry, Ron, and Ginny all already knew. She knew that the news was going to be a lot to digest even for those who didn’t have a personal rivalry with Draco himself.</p><p>“Malfoy?” Molly and Arthur looked at each other with obvious concern. George’s eyes widened in surprise. Percy and Bill both furrowed their brows in confusion, and Fleur turned to whisper into Bill’s ear. “Who ez zis Malfoy boy?” </p><p>“He’s a death eater,” Bill answered, giving Hermione a suspicious look. Fleur’s eyes popped open wide in shock and she turned back to Hermione.</p><p>“Ez zis true? Are you having a baby with zis death eater Malfoy?” She was perplexed.</p><p>Hermione frowned. “Trust me when I say that Draco Malfoy was sixteen years old when he took the mark. He had no more say in it than Harry did the scar on his forehead. Do keep in mind that he was pardoned for all his crimes,” she stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. “And yes, he is the father of this baby. Yes, he knows, yes, he and I will be raising her together.”</p><p>Molly cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I didn’t realize that you and Draco Malfoy were… Involved in such a way.” She chanced a glance at her youngest son, whose face was slightly red at the thought. She frowned, seeing her son was obviously hurt by the fact.</p><p>“We weren’t,” Hermione confessed, blushing a bit herself. She looked down at the table briefly to distract from her shame. She had to remind herself that there was nothing wrong with making the choice to have sex, for any reason, so long as it’s consensual, and not done with the intent to hurt someone. “It’s just something that happened one night. That’s why I left,” she admitted with a frown. “When I found out I was pregnant I was ashamed and embarrassed and I panicked. We obviously didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did, and while it took me quite a while to embrace it, I’m really looking forward to her being here.”</p><p>“You said you weren’t involved,” Ginny pointed out, not missing Hermione’s choice of words. “Is that to say you are now?”</p><p>Without realizing what she was doing, one of Hermione’s hands moved up to take hold of the birthstone pendant hanging around her neck on the delicate gold chain that came with it. She pulled the pendant gently back and forth against the chain, fidgeting nervously. “We’re… settling into a new normal together. I think he might be trying to… court me?” She laughed at the thought, which she wished she hadn’t had out loud. She shook her head. “What’s important to us right now is just preparing for when the baby comes.”</p><p>“And when will the baby be here?” Percy asked, curious. Hermione wondered if he was attempting to do the math to find out when this all occurred. “And what will you do about your NEWTs?”</p><p>Hermione smiled again, still toying with her pendant. “The end of February,” she told them all. “And I’ll leave Hogwarts when the baby is born. I can still sit my NEWTs in June with everyone else. I’m already working on getting ahead in my classes.”</p><p>“When are you ever not ahead in your classes?” Ron asked, trying not to sound too bitter about the whole thing. At least it worked at breaking the tension.</p><p>“Where will you go?” Molly asked in a worried tone. Hermione was like a second daughter to her, but she didn’t think letting her and her baby living at the Burrow would be much of an option for many reasons.</p><p>Hermione turned her attention to the matriarch of the household. “Draco is going to find us something. Undoubtedly he’ll go completely overboard, but I’ll be grateful for whatever he finds.” She saw how Frustrated Draco was with how limited he was in his ability to help her in her pregnancy. Putting a roof over their heads was just the right task to give him. </p><p>Hermione took a heavy breath and let it out slowly. “Does anyone have any other questions?” She looked across the table and locked eyes with one person in particular who hadn’t said a word on the matter, though she possibly had the most to think about regarding the topic, Andromeda Tonks. She’d had a couple of opportunities to get to know the older witch at the beginning of the summer. With Harry being Teddy’s godfather, she was making sure to spend more time with the Order members in order for Teddy to get to know everyone. Hermione smiled across the table at Andromeda, who was perhaps the only one at the table who was genuinely pleased by her big news. </p><p>“No question, but I just want to say, I think Gwendolyn is a beautiful name, though I’m willing to bet Cassiopeia was Draco’s pick.” Andromeda smirked.</p><p>“It was either that or Carina.” She smiled. “You know, I’ve only just realized, this makes Gwendolyn and Teddy cousins, doesn’t it?” Third cousins, but cousins nonetheless. Andromeda herself was the baby’s great-aunt. “Same godfather and everything.”</p><p>Who knew? Maybe baby Gwendolyn would be what brought Black sisters back together after so many years of division.</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
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</div>With the burden of their news lifted, Draco and Hermione were each able to finish out their Christmas holidays peacefully. Hermione was grateful to be able to spend quality time with her friends, who she missed dearly and was not used to being apart from for such long periods of time.<p>Harry was, surprisingly, excited about the pretense of another godchild. Ron still seemed pained by the idea of Hermione having a child with someone who wasn't him, but she hoped he'd get over that soon so that they could return to being friends as they'd always been. </p><p>It was four days after Christmas that Hermione received an owl from Draco, informing her that he'd told his mother everything. She was surprised, of course. They'd never discussed how they would go about that inevitable chore, but she was relieved to know it was taken care of. What she hadn't expected was an invitation to come with the two of them to visit a home that Draco was interested in purchasing for them. </p><p>Quite suddenly it was all feeling very real. Sure, she'd long since adjusted to the idea of being a mother, a single mother. Now she had to adjust to the idea of being a family, her and Draco and their daughter. And with Draco came his mother, and dreadfully, Lucius as well, if he ever got out of Azkaban. This was why on new year's eve morning Hermione was in the room that she was sharing with Ginny, possibly for the last time, trying to figure out if she looked appropriate for meeting Narcissa Malfoy, officially.</p><p>"This is awful," Hermione groaned, looking at herself in the mirror. She was due in two months time, and she wasn't sure it was possible for her belly to get any bigger. "She's going to hate me."</p><p>"Yeah, probably," Ginny agreed unhelpfully. Hermione whipped around to look at her, eyes and mouth open wide with shock. </p><p>"That is not helpful!" she told her friend. </p><p>Ginny laughed. "I'm sorry, but it's true. You're the girl who is taking her son away. It wouldn't matter if you were the picture perfect pureblood girlfriend, her hating you is inevitable. I suggest instead of trying to make her like you, be yourself. At least then you can get her to respect you."</p><p>"That's easy for you to say. You'll never have to deal with a mother-in-law." She frowned at herself in the mirror. It wasn't a polite thought, but it was true, assuming she and Harry stayed together. </p><p>"Ooh?" Ginny asked with a laugh, not taking her comment personally. "Is there an engagement ring somewhere that I've missed? Last I checked he was your baby-daddy, not your husband."</p><p>Hermione turned around again. "Right. You know what I mean." Even so, a slight pinkness tinted her cheeks. </p><p>"All I'm saying is it's better to be respected by the woman than to walk on eggshells trying to make her like you." Ginny got off her bed and went into her closet, retrieving a sweater dress. "Here," she offered it to her friend. "Wear this, with some tall boots." She used a simple expansion charm on it to ensure it'd stretch over the swell of Hermione's stomach and breasts. </p><p>Hermione pulled off the sweater and jeans she'd tried on, and pulled the dress on in its place. "You're right, this is better. I suppose I should have let Draco buy me some maternity clothes when we were in Hogsmeade. He did offer..."</p><p>"Yeah, probably," Ginny laughed.</p><p>Draco asked her to meet them in Diagon Alley, possibly too public a place, but they didn't have much to hide at this point. She was seven months pregnant, it was pretty hard to ignore, and whether they knew it or not the media had hit the nail on the head about him being the father. Now that everyone they cared about knew, there was no point in keeping the secret. </p><p>His mother had stopped off at another shop to make a purchase which Draco waited anxiously for Hermione to meet him at the bookstore in which his father had once brawled with Weasley's father. He'd never seen his father in a fist-fight before then, it was quite the memory. Everytime the bell over the door chimed, Draco looked to see if it was her, which became maddening after several minutes, until finally he saw her. </p><p>She looked... different. He couldn't quite place how, but something about her appearance seemed new to him. Maybe it was the dress, or the way she was wearing her hair. He caught her eye and headed in her direction. They met between two rows of books, and for a moment neither of them knew how to greet the other. A hug seemed like a safe place to start, but it felt odd (and not because of the belly which separated them), and before releasing her he captured her lips in a tender kiss. </p><p>Hermione was surprised by the kiss, especially since they were in public, but with his lips on hers it was hard to be upset about it. "Hi," she said lamely when they parted.</p><p>"Hi. You look… beautiful," he told her, to which she rolled her eyes. </p><p>"It's ten in the morning and my feet already hurt," she told him. She didn't feel beautiful. She felt huge. "Is your mum here?" She looked around, half expecting the intimidating woman to be right behind her.</p><p>"No," Draco answered, to a great sigh of relief. "But she'll be here soon. She had a purchase to pick up." Hermione nodded, biting her lip. Draco could tell she was nervous, and he didn't blame her. He was used to the woman and didn't mind telling her off if necessary (respectfully, of course) but she was, indeed, a lot to take in, especially if she already disliked you. "You'll be fine. She's not even mad. She was… surprised, and irritated, but she's helping. That's a good thing, right?"</p><p>Hermione nodded. "You're probably right, I hope." </p><p>Draco looked up over Hermione and smiled. "Here she comes now," he told her, placing his hands on Hermione's shoulders. "You've got this," he whispered as she approached, and turned Hermione to face the inevitable. </p><p>Hermione hardly had time to take a steadying breath before she was standing before the tall, thin, elegant woman.</p><p>"Miss Granger," Narcissa spoke first, taking in the sight of the girl who carried her grandchild. "Well!" She was slightly stunned by the change. The last time she'd seen the girl she'd hardly weighed fifty kilos. "It looks as though we don't have much time to waste."</p><p>"Mrs Malfoy," Hermione started, not quite sure what to say. Draco's hands, still on her shoulders, gave a supportive squeeze. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."</p><p>"Yes," Narcissa agreed. "Glad enough to wait until your final few weeks of pregnancy to let me in on the secret."</p><p>"Mother," Draco interrupted in warning. "It wasn't her responsibility to tell you, it was mine."</p><p>"That's right," Narcissa looked up at her son to say. "It was. But, better late than never." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "We should be going. We have an appointment."</p><p>"Yes," Hermione agreed, trying to remember to take Ginny's advice and be herself. "Let's not keep your friend waiting."</p><p>A few short minutes later the three stood outside of a large white victorian home with a blue shingle roof, sitting upon a full acre of land. Covered in a blanket of snow, it was rather breathtaking. Hermione stood staring up at it, speechless. It was massive, much too large for a family of three, and so… grand. She couldn't picture herself living in such a place. </p><p>"Isn't it perfect?" Draco asked from her right. </p><p>Hermione looked over to see him grinning up at the overwhelming structure. She didn't want to tell him she didn't care for it. It was a beautiful house, and she should really see the inside before making a judgement. "It's… remarkable."</p><p>“Four bedrooms,” announced a voice from behind them that held the familiar chime of Rita Skeeter, were it not a completely different voice. All the same it made the hair on the back of Hermione’s neck stand up. “Three and a half baths,” the woman continued, stepping forward into view. She wore a purple skirt suit with pink lining, gold pointed toe heeled boots, and a large fur coat which Hermione found very distasteful, assuming it was real. She couldn’t help thinking this woman must be the real estate equivalent of the obnoxious gossip reporter. “More than thirty-four hundred square feet. The perfect starter home for a growing family,” she said, looking Hermione up and down. </p><p>“Starter home,” Hermione laughed, looking up at the grandiose building. “Just how many children do you think we’re going to have!” Hermione felt all eyes on her and realized how that sounded. “I just meant…” She looked over at Draco, blushing slightly. “It’s beautiful, of course,” she agreed. “I was just expecting something a little more simple. A flat, even.”</p><p>Narcissa scoffed. “My grandchild in a flat,” she said dismissively. “Lets go inside. You’ll see. This’ll be the perfect house my grandchildren in.”</p><p>Hermione’s eyes went wide and she looked at Draco again, hoping to transmit a message to him, a message that said “why does everyone think we’re going to be having multiple children together?” The four of them headed inside, Draco helping Hermione up the first few steps up the porch.</p><p>She really hated to admit that she liked it. She still wasn’t sure if she saw herself living there, with Draco, raising their daughter, and apparently some future brood that his mother had planned for them. However, having Draco whispering into her ear the whole way, painting pictures of a not so distant future life together, did make it easier to envision. </p><p>After two painful trips up two flights of stairs, Hermione and Draco were left in the window nook of the third story guest room, overlooking the backyard. “So, what do you think?” Draco asked her, rubbing her back with one hand as they both looked out over the sparkling white yard. </p><p>Hermione leaned back into him, holding onto her stomach. “I think our daughter would be lucky to be raised here,” she admitted reluctantly. “And despite the fact that I firmly believe it is far too much for me, I don’t know that I could ever deny her that.”</p><p>Draco couldn’t help smirking. “I knew it’d grow on you,” he told her, and as she leaned back against him, he wrapped his arms around her. “And I’m glad I was right, because I’ve already put in an offer two days ago, and it was accepted. I now own this house.”</p><p>Hermione turned to look at him, appalled. “You bought this house? Without telling me?” Why would he do that? What if she hated it?</p><p>“Hermione, this house is perfect. I had to make a move before someone else got it,” Draco reasoned.</p><p>“Yes,” Hermione said in a harsh tone. “Because the magical community has such a competitive market.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. In fact with all the lives lost in recent years, it was a buyer’s market. She sighed. “Draco, how am I supposed to take care of a house like this by myself, while taking care of a newborn by myself?”</p><p>“Well I was thinking that-” Draco was interrupted by a cough, Narcissa clearing her throat from the doorway. When the pair turned to look at her she stepped into the room. Hermione stood upright, no longer leaning against Draco.</p><p>“I wouldn’t worry yourself about that, dear,” the experienced mother said simply. “What you need is a mother to get your through the first few months.”</p><p>Hermione frowned. “I don’t have-”</p><p>“I didn’t mean your mother, my dear. I was suggesting that I come and help you, at least until Draco finishes school.”</p><p>The couple looked at each other, stunned silent for a moment. It was Draco who spoke first, sensing Hermione’s complete confusion. “What I was going to say was, I’ve been thinking I should be here with you. If you can sit your N.E.W.T.s later, why can’t I?”</p><p>Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Narcissa spoke first. “No, Draco, you’ll stay in school. I’ll take the room across from the nursery. I’ll be much more helpful. You know nothing about raising a child.”</p><p>Hermione and Draco exchanged glances. “I…” Hermione didn’t know what to say. “Yes,” Hermione found herself answering. “Yes, thank you. That would be… amazing.” Despite the paralyzing fear of being under the same roof as Narcissa, at least it would be her own roof, more or less, and on top of that, there was no denying that Narcissa’s assistance would be invaluable. </p><p>“Good,” Mrs Malfoy said with a hint of a smile. She was rather looking forward to taking part in those blessed first stages of the baby’s life. </p><p>“Thank you, mother,” Draco said, surprised. He’d been intent on leaving school with Hermione when the baby came, but his mother wasn’t wrong, he didn’t know the first thing about raising a baby. It’d be the blind leading the blind. Plus, it would give his mother and Hermione a chance to get to know each other. “I’ll come home every weekend,” he assured Hermione. </p><p>Hermione decided that she would spend the rest of the day with Draco, as it was a holiday, and they had a lot to do regarding their new home, which she was still furious with him for purchasing behind her back, but was glad to know that she had somewhere to go once the baby came. That afternoon Draco took Hermione furniture shopping to help her get an idea of how she would like to furnish their home, and they ate lunch while they were out. They returned to the house later in the afternoon, and for dinner had a picnic on the formal living room floor in front of the fireplace. </p><p>Shortly after dinner Hermione fell asleep, and Draco watched her sleep for quite some time, and it wasn’t until a few minutes before midnight that Draco woke her.</p><p>“What time is it?” she asked upon regaining consciousness, and taking in her surroundings.</p><p>“Almost midnight,” Draco told her, helping her back into an upright sitting position. </p><p>“Oh.” She smiled. She’d nearly forgotten it was new year’s eve. They watched the time tick away on Draco’s watch, and counted down the last few seconds together. </p><p>“Happy new year, Hermione Granger,” Draco said to her with a gentle smile.</p><p>“Happy new year, Draco Malfoy,” she returned his smile, and without overthinking it, she leaned forward and kissed him.</p><p>Draco was surprised, pleasantly so, but once her lips were on his he was hard pressed to let her go. He deepened the kiss, cradling her cheek in his hand as he drew her closer to him.</p><p>Hermione let herself get lost in what was a perfectly pleasant snog. In fact, it felt different than it had in the past. It was more sensual, somehow, passionate, but calm. She broke away before either one of them could grow too aroused. When she did, she leaned her forehead against his. “You did good,” Hermione told him in concession.</p><p>“I did, did I?” His lips curled into a smirk.</p><p>“The house, it’s perfect. Too perfect,” she told him, grinning because she knew his ego was getting a larger boost the more she spoke. “Thank you, for providing for me, and for Gwendolyn.”</p><p>Draco drew his head back slightly to look at her, an eyebrow raised. “So we’re going with Gwendolyn, huh? Gwendolyn Cassiopeia Malfoy?”</p><p>Hermione let out a heavy sigh, as though she was making a great sacrifice. “Well, you did buy me a house,” she reasoned with a grin.</p><p>“I did do that didn’t I?” he laughed.</p><p>“Yeah, how did you manage that in just a couple of days, anyway?” She didn’t know much about real estate but she did remember once her parents sold their house and purchased a new one, and she remembered how stressful it’d been for them and how long it took to complete the process.</p><p>“Well, they were pretty eager to sell it to me,” Draco told her, grinning shamelessly now.</p><p>“Oh yeah?” Hermione asked. “And why is that?”</p><p>“Because I offered twenty percent over the asking price.”</p><p>“Draco!” She knew he had money, but twenty percent of a house like the one they sat alone in now was still a small fortune for most people. </p><p>Draco laughed at her angry expression. “It’s worth it,” he told her. “As soon as I saw it I knew we had to have it.”</p><p>She couldn’t help but notice there was a lot of “we” being thrown around that day, and each time it slipped out seemed so casual, so obvious, that it bothered her slightly. Just what kind of “we” were they, anyway? Did he think that they were going to get married one day? Did he think she was going to spend the next ten years giving him more babies to fill this house? She wanted very badly to say something, but didn’t think it appropriate. She was the one freaking out over a simple two letter word.</p><p>“I should probably get going,” Hermione told him after a moment, smiling softly at him. “I’ve already been out much longer than I intended, and I don’t want anyone to worry.”</p><p>“Right, because Potter and Weasley might have a heart attack if you spend the night with your big bad death eater boyfriend.”</p><p>“Don’t call yourself that,” Hermione said quickly, frowning.</p><p>“Which part?” Draco asked, a slight challenge to his tone. He was genuinely curious which part she was offended by.</p><p>Hermione bit her lip. “The first part. I don’t… I don’t see you as that. And they don’t either, really.” She smirked playfully. “It’s the years of bullying and relentless torment that keeps them hating you.”</p><p>“Ah,” Draco stated simply in understanding. “But the boyfriend part…"</p><p>Hermione groaned. Why did he feel the need to put a label on their relationship? Or perhaps more importantly, why did she feel the need to avoid doing so? "I suppose, given the circumstances, and the growth in our relationship, that word boyfriend wouldn't be entirely inappropriate," she agreed, offering him a smile while shaking her head. "Now are you going to help me up off of this floor so that I can get back to the burrow?"</p><p>Draco did just that, and escorted Hermione to the border of the apparation point. They shared another long, tender kiss, and then she was gone.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
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</div>When Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were seen kissing on the Hogwarts express during the return trip from their Christmas holiday it was the number one topic of discussion at that night's dinner. It was official, as far as their fellow students were concerned. The Heads were a couple. Moreover, they were a family.<p>Surprisingly, Hermione was okay with that. If the most interesting thing people had to say about her was that she was in a relationship with the father of her baby, it wasn't so bad. </p><p>A week into the new year Hermione received a most surprising wedding invitation. "Hey Draco," she called out, unsure exactly where in her dorm he was located. It was nearly time for bed, and Draco barely stepped foot into his own dorm anymore. It was simply easier being together, and she didn't hate it. </p><p>"Yeah?" Draco called back from the kitchen, his voice barely carrying back to her. He returned a moment later in just his pajama pants, which Hermione found incredibly unfair, because she was feeling far too fat, swollen, and sore for any sort of sexual activity. </p><p>Hermione remembered eye contact, and smiled, pushing the dirty thoughts from her mind. "We've been invited to a wedding," she told him.</p><p>"We've what?" Draco laughed and placed a glass of water on her side of the bed, and then the other on his own. </p><p>"A wedding. Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood are getting married," she told him. </p><p>"Lovegood? Isn't she that spacy blonde?  Bloody hell, there's a match if I've ever heard of one." He tried very hard to forget that the girl had been held prisoner in his family's cellar at one point. He pulled back the cover. "And I think you mean you've been invited. I'm quite sure they wouldn't-"</p><p>"Actually-" Hermione interrupted him. "This invitation is addressed to Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Offspring." She laughed as she climbed carefully into the bed, passing him the envelope. </p><p>Draco looked over the folded piece of stationary. "Oh!" He didn't know what else to say to that. He pulled out the invitation from inside. "That's this weekend," he pointed out. </p><p>"I know. It must have been a last minute arrangement." Hermione pulled the covers up over her and turned onto her side to face him, cradling her belly. "She's pregnant, you know. More so than me even. They're probably trying to tie the knot before the baby comes, which would probably be any time now." Remembering how close Luna was to having her baby boy was a startling reminder that Hermione wasn't far off either. </p><p>Draco let out a short laugh. "Didn't know Longbotttom had it in him." Hermione audibly scoffed and shoved his shoulder. </p><p>"Listen, it's a wonder more babies aren't being born right now. War will do that to people," she explained. </p><p>"Yes," Draco agreed with a smirk. "Dealing with their trauma with copious amounts of sex? Sounds about right."</p><p>"Or copious amounts of drinking, leading to sex," Hermione added, blushing slightly.</p><p>"Or that," Draco laughed. "So, you plan on going to this thing?"</p><p>Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Yes,  I think we plan on going to this thing. If you want to be my boyfriend now, accompanying me to events is included in the job title."</p><p>Draco looked at Hermione for a moment. It was still hard to wrap his head around the fact that after all they'd been through. After all the anger, hatred, rivalry, and trauma, he was currently in her bed, listening to her call him her boyfriend. They had a baby on the way, and a home presently being furnished for them by his mother. And now apparently they were attending this wandpoint wedding together. "Alright," Draco agreed. "Fair enough. And I'll even promise to be on my best behavior, just so long as Potter and Weasley can be on theirs."</p><p>"I'll ensure that they are," Hermione promised him with a smile. "But if not, let me handle them, okay?"</p><p>"I'll be happy to watch." Watching her defend him to her friends would be worth whatever look of betrayal on their faces in exchange for taking care of his own business.</p><p>"Good," Hermione smiled. "I'll write Luna in the morning and tell her that we'll be there. Goodnight!" She leaned forward enough to give him a kiss, before rolling onto her other side and settling into her moist recent ideal sleeping position. </p><p>Mid-week Hermione, Ginny, and a couple other girls in their year who had been invited to the wedding received special permission for a last minute shopping trip in Hogsmeade to find something to wear. Hermione was grateful for the company. Trying on dresses in her condition was no easy feat, and if it wasn't for Ginny's assistance in the dressing room she never would have managed. </p><p>She ended up choosing a burgundy turtleneck sweater dress with a knee length a-line skirt. She couldn't imagine the eclectic couple would host a particularly formal ceremony. She purchased a pair of thick black knit hosiery to wear underneath, and let Ginny talk her into a pair of matching burgundy suede ankle boots, with a modest one-inch heel that she thought she could manage for one day. She was very annoyed to learn she needed to go up a shoe size for a comfortable fit. She felt very uneasy charging the items to Draco's vault, but he’d insisted, and truth be told, she didn't have much money left after spending so much of it on room and board over the summer. </p><p>The day of the wedding Draco emerged from his dorm room wearing his best dress robes. Standing in her causal sweater dress, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "You're not wearing that," she said with a laugh. "The invitation said to dress comfortably."</p><p>"And this is how I'm comfortable attending a wedding," Draco reasoned, holding open his dress robes to reveal a formal black and white tuxedo underneath. It wasn't unlike the one he'd worn to the Yule Ball all those years ago, though he filled it out much better these days, Hermione didn't fail to notice. </p><p>Hermione went to the bed and sat down, boots in hand. "You'd certainly be the best dressed man there, but you can't outdo the bride and groom. Why don't you put on your black suit with the turtleneck that you like," she suggested, struggling to get the boots on her feet. He often wore it when they went out for any reason. It was his version of weekend wear. </p><p>"I suppose I could do that," Draco agreed. "Let me just help you first." He walked over to her and helped guide her feet into the shoes. </p><p>"Thank you," Hermione said with a pout. "Now go change."</p><p>The wedding was held in Ottery St Catchpole, at a public garden that had erected a tent for the occasion. Hermione could see the towering Burrow in the distance, which made her smile fondly as Draco escorted her inside. It was a rather intimate gathering, most of the guests members of either the Order or Dumbledore's Army. There was no bride’s side or groom’s side, just a few rows of seats lined with wildflowers. Everyone Hermione cared about most was there, which made walking in hand in hand with Draco awkward. She felt eyes on her, and dropped his hand, scratching her nose as an excuse so that she wouldn’t make him feel bad.</p><p>Ginny waved them over, having saved two seats next to her and Harry. “I can’t believe he actually came with you,” Ginny whispered to Hermione playfully, enjoying the scandal of it all.</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling. “You should have seen what he almost wore,” she teased in a whisper.</p><p>“I heard that,” Draco said cooly from beside her.</p><p>“I knew you would,” Hermione said, looking back over at him with a smile. </p><p>The ceremony was mostly traditional, but not lacking in Luna’s eclectic flare. She wore an empire waist crochet lace gown, which started out white and grew into a bright yellow as it flowed to the floor. Peppered throughout the gown’s skirt were a variety of wild flowers to match the decor. The vows they exchanged were humorous and personal, and in Hermione’s mind perfectly fitting for the odd couple that they were.</p><p>For as mild and brief as the ceremony was, the reception was full of life, joy, excitement and dancing. Hermione was perfectly content to watch the merriment from the sidelines, where she could be off her aching feet and enjoy the plentiful food provided. She did agree to accompany Draco to one dance, which, much to Hermione’s surprise, was interrupted.</p><p>“May I cut in?” the very familiar voice of Viktor Krum spoke calmly. Hermione looked over Draco’s shoulder to see the older man smiling sweetly at her. The sight of it made her smile as well.</p><p>Draco, on the other hand, didn’t seem nearly as pleased by the arrival of his former sports hero. Now, however, all Draco saw was Hermione’s most recent lover, apart from himself of course. “Krum,” he greeted him coolly, his grip on Hermione’s hand tightening slightly.</p><p>“Malfoy,” Krum returned, less cordially. He’d never been good at disguising his distaste.</p><p>Hermione sighed and released Draco, smiling again at her longtime friend, then back toward her partner. “I’m sure you can spare me for one song?” she suggested.</p><p>Draco was reluctant, but he didn’t want to be that controlling boyfriend who wouldn’t let her have a dance with her ex. It’s not as though he couldn’t keep his eyes on them. “Sure, why not?” Draco and Krum exchanged a look as he passed her over to the older wizard. He went and took a seat at the table they’d previously occupied, watching the large dark athlete move Hermione across the floor. He could still see them, but was unable to hear their conversation as they danced.</p><p>“Hermione, I am surprised to see you here with him,” Viktor told her point blank. “I was under the impression that you two don’t like each other.” He was very concerned with the sudden change of circumstance.</p><p>Hermione was a little surprised as well. A lot of people were in her business anymore, and she was used to people making a lot of assumptions about her and Draco. Perhaps he didn’t read Witch Weekly. Then again, why would he?  “Well… Draco and I have grown very close in recent months. He’s been very supportive,” Hermione explained as they swayed. She wasn’t much of a dancer, especially in her current state.</p><p>“After everything he’s done… I know you were scared about raising this baby alone, but that boy?” He frowned, and Hermione frowned as well. </p><p> </p><p>“He’s really stepped up. I think he’s going to make a pretty good father.” She was a little hurt that he was so disappointed in her for letting Draco into their lives.</p><p>“Certainly you could find someone more compatible. Someone kinder, and humble, and reliable,” Viktor described hopefully.</p><p>Hermione smiled sadly up at him. “Someone like you?” she guessed.</p><p>Viktor smiled back at her guiltily. “I don’t think that sounds so terrible, do you?”</p><p>Hermione couldn’t help but feel bad. She wondered how long the quidditch player had been dwelling on her situation. The last time they’d seen each other she’d blindsided him with the news. “Viktor, you know I think you’re an amazing man, and I adore you. You’re an invaluable friend.”</p><p>“That sounds an awful lot like a rejection,” Krum pointed out. He wasn’t surprised, maybe a bit disappointed. There were greater factors at play, of course, such as his constant travel.</p><p>“Viktor…” Hermione bit her lip. “I can’t just replace Draco as her father. We have plans. He just bought a house. He’s in this with me. Even his mother-” She didn’t get the opportunity to finish her sentence about Mrs. Malfoy, because suddenly his lips were on his. She kissed him back initially, but was very aware that Draco was watching, and pulled out of the kiss as quickly as she could. “Viktor you don’t understand,” she told him very quickly, knowing that if Draco had seen he was most likely headed their way. “Draco is the father. This is his baby, always has been.” She took a step away from him, and she could feel Draco’s approach. She put one arm out to block him as he came up behind her.</p><p>“Hermione, I’m sorry.” He looked up to see the boyfriend, and apparently baby’s father, staring angrily at him. “I didn’t realize.” The sadness in his eyes hurt Hermione’s heart. “It was a mistake, I apologize,” he spoke this time to the angry blond. </p><p>“Good of you to realize.” Normally, Draco would have started a fight, and he still felt the urge to do so, but he was aware of where they were, and he was aware that if he started a fight with any of Hermione’s friends it would have a seriously negative impact on their relationship, which had only just officially begun.</p><p>“So it is true, what people are saying,” Viktor looked between the unlikely couple, landing on Draco. “You are responsible for this, everything that she has been through this year.” The accusation didn’t go over well.</p><p>“I’m responsible? Listen here you Bulgarian brute, it takes two people to make a baby, and I am no more at fault than-”</p><p>“Of course it is your fault. You are the man, it is your responsibility to know-”</p><p>“Both of you, stop it!” Hermione hissed. “This is not the time nor-”</p><p>“Oh!” A sudden exclamation from the bride gathered the attention of many guests who were not involved in the awkward love triangle Hermione found herself in. “Everyone please be careful, the floor is wet,” Luna announced from the center of the dance floor. “My water’s just broken.”</p><p>The news was enough to distract Hermione away from the only two lovers she’d ever known. It was a welcome distraction indeed. </p><p>“It looks as though the party’s over,” Draco commented, putting his arm around Hermione’s waist. “Perhaps we should go.”</p><p>Hermione bit her lip and frowned at Krum, whom she regarded in very high respect, and hated to walk away from on anything resembling a sour note. “Perhaps that’d be best,” she agreed reluctantly. “It really was good to see you, Viktor. I’ll be in touch soon.” She’d like a chance to explain the situation better, realizing that he must be horribly confused after all the bad things she’d told him about the man who’d “done this to her”. </p><p>On the bright side, at least she wasn’t the one going into labor tonight.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First of all, I want to apologize for taking a break from this story. It was very necessary. I am pleased to tell you, however, that throughout that break I have been working with my writing partner (the one I wrote Snow Storm with) on SO MANY new Dramione projects! Stay tuned because as this story and Regrettable come to a close (not like, right away, but we're getting there) new stories will be launched!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Luna and Neville's wedding things were tense between her and Draco for a few days. As stubborn as ever she refused to apologize for being on the receiving end of a kiss. Thankfully, they were provided a distraction from their troubles when Ginny reminded Hermione that she hadn't had a baby shower yet, which she was apparently overdue for, since the baby would arrive the following month! </p><p>Ginny, of course, wanted the honor of planning the event, but a few days later Hermione received a most surprising letter from Narcissa Malfoy. She wished to host the party herself, and was requesting a guest list. Feeling terribly guilty for taking the job away from her, Hermione told Ginny of the change of plans, but asked Ginny to instead help her pregnancy-addled mind come up with the guest list. </p><p>As disappointed as she was, Ginny understood Hermione's position, and the two girls had spent an afternoon together in Hermione's dorm writing the guest list. When Hermione had sent the list off, she couldn't help feeling slightly nervous about one name in particular that she had insisted on inviting. It might cause some waves, but she hoped, in the end, to reunite two sisters. Still, what she was doing could be seen as meddling by Draco's mother, who already made her nervous to begin with.</p><p>Hermione was laying in bed, laying on her side, which was the only comfortable position now that her stomach had gotten so big. Having nowhere to go was bliss, but the looming baby shower was still troubling her. She couldn't help but feel it might be made a little less stressful if Draco were in attendance, and for the last ten minutes she'd been laying here, playing with a lock her hair, trying to decide how to bring it up.</p><p>"It was really nice of your mum to plan the baby shower." She finally said. It was a start, at least. She still wasn't sure if her concerns would offend Draco.</p><p>Draco, who was still getting ready for bed, looked over at his girlfriend. "Yeah," he agreed. "It's not surprising. She hasn't had occasion to host an event in a few years now." Death eater gatherings weren't exactly cocktail parties. "Plus I think she's eager to show off what she's done to our new house." They'd given her permission to take over decorating only with the understanding that she was not to be offended if they chose to change something. It really was a load lifted. </p><p>Hermione bit down on her bottom lip, and nodded. "You'll want to see what she's done to the house as well, won't you?" She asked him, still trying to build up to what she really wanted to ask. She placed a hand on her stomach, the baby was kicking like crazy, as she usually did when Hermione laid down. Apparently that was when she had the most room to move around, making it very difficult to simply lay down and go to sleep.</p><p>Draco thought about it, nodding his head in a vague manner. "Yeah, I guess. She's got good taste, the question will be if it's our taste." He had no idea what "their" taste was. Their dorms had always been conveniently decorated for them. </p><p>Hermione pushed herself into a seated position on the bed, watching him get ready to join her. "So maybe you should come to the party, that way we can see it for the first time together." She suggested. She knew he planned to visit on weekends once she was moved in with the baby, but she hoped he wouldn't point that out. </p><p>Draco looked up again at Hermione as he stepped out of his underwear and into only a pair of pajama pants. He grinned. "You're afraid to deal with my mother without me, aren't you?" He guessed with a laugh. Truth be told he'd been thinking about it too. Sending her off for a day with his mother, under the stress of hosting an event, without him seemed almost like a disaster waiting to happen. </p><p>Hermione let out a sigh, he could see right through her. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing in this case. "Truth be told, yes, I'm a bit nervous about it. I hardly know her at all. What if she decides she doesn't like me?" In most cases Hermione would be unconcerned about whether or not someone liked her, but she was expected to raise a baby with this woman, at least until Draco was out of school. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. </p><p>Draco got his foot out of his plant leg and adjusted the waistband on his hips before crawling up from the foot of the bed toward her. "I think you're absolutely right. If you want me to come, I'll come." He kissed her tenderly. "In fact, I insist." He didn't wish to put her in that situation. His mother could be entirely lovely, or she could be unbearable, there was little in between. </p><p>Hermione smiled, watching him crawl up the bed, and kissed him back. "Really? You don't mind?" She asked, grinning against his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck. She wasn't sure why she thought he'd put up more or a fight, or maybe be offended that she didn't wish to spend the time alone with his mother, getting to know her. But they also both knew she'd have plenty of time for that after the baby came. "It really means a lot." She informed him with a smile.</p><p>Draco kissed her one more time and then settled beside her, curling his body around hers. "I really don't mind. It'll give people a chance to see us together." The sight of them together was still a novelty to many. "Plus I need to make sure my mother is on her best behavior." </p><p>Hermione cuddled up next to him, "I don't know if she'll come, but I've invited your aunt." She informed him, studying his face for a reaction. "I'm not sure how it'll go over." She admitted. It was part of the reason she was nervous.</p><p>Draco's brow furrowed. His aunt? It took him a moment to realize she didn't mean Bellatrix. "Oh…" He was surprised. "I didn't know you knew her." He had no memory of ever meeting the woman. </p><p>Hermione could see the surprise on his face, but she wasn't sure if he was happy about it or not. "Well, she's raising Teddy Lupin, you know, your cousin. She was close with the order, provided us a safe house when we were in need." She told him. "She was at the Burrow over Christmas, too." She added, still studying his face.</p><p>Draco was still surprised, realizing he didn't know a thing about his estranged family members. "Who's Teddy Lupin? Lupin, like our professor third year?" Were they related to and he just didn't know it. "Sorry, I'm really not familiar…"</p><p>Hermione nodded, "Yes, exactly. Lupin married Tonks, they had Teddy during the war." She told him, she was honestly a little surprised by how little he knew about that side of his family. "So technically Tonks was your cousin, and Teddy is your second cousin." She explained.</p><p>Draco wanted to ask who the hell Tonks was, but if she was his cousin, that must mean she was his estranged aunt's daughter. It irritated him that he didn't know all this already. "My teacher married my cousin. That's just… weird." Draco paused a moment to think she said Tonks was his cousin. "They died, didn't they? In the war?" he guessed, frowning. He knew he wasn't responsible, but knowing that he'd been on the side that must have killed them bother him. It was as if he'd killed his own cousin, in a way. It made him feel no better than his other aunt, who was certifiable. </p><p>Hermione nodded, frowning too, thinking she knew what he must be thinking. "She wasn't supposed to be there, but she really couldn't stand not knowing if Lupin was alright." She told him. She wouldn't explain anymore of that situation, though, because Tonks had been in the room of requirement, safe, until they'd needed it to find the horcrux. "Anyways, your aunt was pretty pleased to hear we're having a baby together, I think." She told him.</p><p>Draco's frown turned up into a smile. "Yeah? What makes you think that?" He was kind of glad to hear that their daughter would have a cousin to grow up with. He never even met his. </p><p>Hermione was happy to see him smile, "Well, she didn't explicitly say so, but she did say she liked the name we picked." She informed him. </p><p> </p><p>The afternoon of the shower Draco helped Hermione into her dress and shoes, an increasingly difficult task these days, and they apparated to the front of their house, not too far so she didn't have as long of a walk. He wasn't as nervous as he knew she was. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze, before leading her inside. </p><p>What had previously been an empty shell of a house was now bathed in grey and white textiles, from rugs to curtains. Plush, deep grey couches filled the great room, providing plenty of seating for the expected guests, lined with perfectly fluffed light teal and white pillows. There were candles, vases, and all other sorts of pointless decor to fill the space. Over the mantle sat an ornate framed mirror. Across the sideboard laid a selection of delicate pastries, and on the large glass coffee table tea and finger sandwiches were spread. Rather than the expected pink girly decor, silver, purple, and teal streamers were draped delicately on most surfaces. </p><p>Narcissa entered the room shortly after, carrying a perfectly stacked pyramid of French macarons in the game teal and purple of the decor. She smiled at the sight of them. "Oh good, you're here," she greeted them, before finding a place to set the deserts down. </p><p>Hermione held onto Draco's hand tightly, taking in every room they passed through. She'd been worried, and she knew Draco had too, that their styles wouldn't mesh, but everything she was seeing was warm and welcoming, not too over the top. She was definitely relieved, and didn't see anything she absolutely hated. </p><p>She took in the food for the party, and had to stop herself from grabbing from any of the plates of what was sure to be amazing food and snacks. Everything looked beautiful, she'd obviously put a lot of work into the presentation, and Hermione didn't want to offend her by wrecking her display before the guests had even arrived.</p><p>"The house looks amazing, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione told her genuinely as she emerged with yet another tempting treat. She'd just eaten a little before they'd left, knowing they would be too early to eat the food right away, and yet she was still hungry somehow.</p><p>"Of course it does, dear," Narcissa said simply, dismissing her compliment as an unnecessary statement of fact. </p><p>Draco rolled his eyes at his mother's narcissism. "Thank you, mother. We really appreciate all the hard work you've put in. We couldn't have pulled it off without you." He went over and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. </p><p>Narcissa air-kissed her son back, and drew Hermione into a gentle hug as well. The girl was carrying her grandchild, after all. Her son was also smitten with the witch, but she couldn't tell how genuine this affection was, and she had only herself to blame for that. </p><p>Hermione hugged her back, "Draco is right, this is a huge help." She agreed with a smile. She chose to not let her dismissal bother her, his mother was probably just like that. It was probably her way of telling Hermione not to worry about the effort she'd put it. At least, that was what she chose to believe. There was a knock at the door then, and Hermione bit her lip, looking between the two. "I invited one guest to come a little early. I thought it'd be best." She explained. She had told Draco what she was doing, but it would be a surprise to Narcissa.</p><p>Narcissa's eyes went wide just for a moment, not expecting Hermione to have thrown a wrench in her plan. "Oh?" She decided not to assume the worst, but she was curious to know who it could be, and why Hermione would think this best. "Well, let's not keep them waiting…" She crossed the room and went to the door, as she was the host. She opened the door, and who she saw on the other side was, to say the least, startling. </p><p>"Andromeda," she said, her breath catching. She knew she'd been invited, but she apparently hadn't been prepared for it. </p><p>Andromeda gave her sister a thin smile, she had been made aware of the reunion, and she had almost decided not to come.</p><p>"Narcissa." She greeted her sister, shifting the toddler on her hip. "You look well." She commented. She wasn't going to cause a scene, or be rude, considering this was a baby shower. But she wasn't exactly excited to see her estranged sister.</p><p>Hermione watched the two, wringing her hands together nervously. She didn't know what to expect, but she hoped the two could see past their differences now that the war was over, and there were no sides to pick.</p><p>Narcissa could sense her sister's reluctance, which made her heart ache. She resented her late sister for coming between them. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Well come in, the kids just arrived." She stepped out of the way, holding the door open and closing it behind her. "And who's this little one?" she dared to ask. </p><p>Andromeda stepped inside, looking around as she did. It was an attractive house, though she recognized her sisters' style in the decor. "This is your great nephew, Teddy Lupin." Andromeda told her sister, smiling down at the toddler. "I've been raising him since Nymphedora and her husband passed." She explained.</p><p>Narcissa's smile pressed instead into a thin, guilty line. "I was so sorry to hear of their passing. I can't imagine…" She'd gone as far as to deceive the dark lord in order to protect her son, something that was said to be impossible to do. "He's lucky to have you."</p><p>Andromeda attempted to keep a brave face, but the truth was, there wasn't a day that passed that she didn't miss her family. "Thank you." She said, looking down at Teddy. "I don't know what I'd do without him." She'd lost her husband as well, and she couldn't help but feel bitter that her sister had lost no one. Her husband may be in prison, but at least he was still living.</p><p>"I-" Narcissa's voice caught in her throat. She wanted to tell her sister that she missed her, and that she was sorry for letting Bella bully her into cutting her out of her life, but it all seemed like too little too late. "I'm glad you're here," she chose to say instead.</p><p>Andromeda considered that for a moment, and while she wouldn't be forgetting everything that had happened, it would be nice if she could have her sister back. "I'm glad I came." She agreed with a curt nod. "Would you like to hold him?" She asked after a brief hesitation. </p><p>Narcissa smiled again, much more genuinely. She reached out to receive the little boy. She turned her attention to her son and his lover. "Draco, have you met your cousin?" She wondered, settling the ten month old on her hip. </p><p>Draco stepped forward. He'd never seen his mother with a baby. She looked so… happy. It made Draco happy as well, because it meant that she would be happy to get to know his baby as well. "Can't say I have," he told her. Looking at the little boy now it occurred to Draco that he'd never stood so close to a baby before. He'd never held one, or talked to one, and pretty soon he would have one. His mind flooded with anxious thoughts of insecurity. </p><p>Hermione watched the scene play out with bated breath, it was going better than she could have hoped. She'd been so worried it would go badly, and that his mother would blame her. She stepped forward, closer to the group, now that she was sure there would be no wands being pulled. "Draco, maybe you could keep Teddy busy during the party?" Hermione suggested, glancing at Andromeda, who was now looking at Draco curiously.</p><p>"That's a wonderful idea, if you're up for it, Draco." Andromeda said with a kind smile. She was honestly shocked that the son of her sister and Lucius Malfoy would be with a muggleborn, but she held no grudge against Draco. Children couldn't choose their parents, they could only honor them. As far as she was concerned, he hadn't known any better.</p><p>Draco looked between the three women as though they'd all sprouted additional heads. "You want me to watch the baby?" Yes he was about to have his own, but his wasn't going to be mobile any time soon. It occurred to them, though, that this was probably a test, all three women spontaneously and simultaneously conspiring against him. What else could he do but take the bait? "Alright, yeah, I guess I could do that."</p><p>Hermione laughed at his reaction, hooking her arm through his. "No one is leaving you alone with him, I just mean, you'll likely be bored. Teddy will keep you on your toes, and maybe teach you a thing or two, as well." She assured him, sensing his nerves. </p><p>Andromeda watched the two curiously, cracking a small smile at Draco's reaction. Any guy without a child of their own would have the same reaction, there were very few who wouldn't. "If you get overwhelmed, just say so. I'm sure he will end up being passed around, anyways." Andromeda assured her nephew. A room full of girls, there were usually at least a few who wanted a turn with Teddy.</p><p>Hermione's simple touch helped to calm him down almost instantly. He looked down at her with a smile. "Right. I think I'm up to the challenge." After all, he knew that Gwendolyn could arrive literally any day now, they were in the home stretch.</p><p>Narcissa was pleased to see how the young couple faired together. Perhaps their feelings for one another were true. She never thought she'd think this of the muggleborn, but she hoped it was. "Well then, why don't you take Teddy into the living room and sit with him, and your aunt and I can finish setting up." As she spoke, she passed the child off to her reluctant son. "Join me in the kitchen?" She said, turning to her sister with an imploring look. Obviously she just wanted a chance to speak with her before the other guests arrived. </p><p>Andromeda looked at her sister, and nodded. No harm would come from them talking, she was sure. "Of course," she agreed, following Narcissa into the kitchen.</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>STOP! Did you read Part 1? If not, go back and read that RIGHT NOW! Don't make me tell you twice.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione joined Draco and Teddy in the living room, lowering herself carefully onto the plush sofa. Once she was sat down, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get herself up without help.</p><p>Draco joined Hermione on the couch and set the baby down between them. He seemed sturdy enough to hold his own on the couch as long as they kept him from trying to get off. "How old did you say he was?" Draco asked, figuring she'd know the answer, even if she hadn't actually said so before. </p><p>Narcissa led her long lost sister into the kitchen, where she was preparing pitchers of pumpkin juice. She stood next to the island, looking into the living room to watch the teens together. "Do you suppose it's karma?" She asked her sister of the situation. "That she would be the one this would happen with?"</p><p>Hermione smiled down at Teddy, reaching over to tickle him a little. "He's around ten months, already pulling himself up on tables and anything he can manage. I imagine he'll start walking any day now." She told Draco, looking over at him. "They grow fast, you know." She said with a smile. </p><p>Andromeda leaned against the island, watching the two teens with her grandchild. She let out a snort, turning to look at her sister. "Because karma is the only reason your son would fall for a muggleborn girl?" She asked her sister skeptically. "He really does seem smitten," she commented. She looked back towards the couple, frowning a little. "It does seem a little odd, though. I've always heard he was a horribly mean little boy." She commented thoughtfully. Sure, he was older now, but how had he changed so much? </p><p>Narcissa pressed her lips into a thin line. "I didn't mean… I just meant, it's a good lesson for us to learn, that we should have learned sooner. And with Lucius away, Draco doesn't have to conform to his father's ideas of what's right and wrong for him." She sighed. "He was always so concerned with impressing the man, being good enough, perfect, even. That girl there was one of the biggest obstacles between my son and husband." Every year she'd bested him, academically, and Lucius had never not punished him for it. "And look at them now."</p><p>Andromeda watched Narcissa as she spoke, it was hard for her to feel bad for being so bitter when she'd lost so much, and had no sister to comfort her. She knew that it had been Bella's influence that had really torn them apart, but just hearing Narcissa speak of Lucius made her upset. "Yes, look at them." She said, gazing into the other room again. "You don't think that if Lucius ever gets out of prison he won't have something to say about this?" She questioned. It was a serious question, not bitter or judgemental. "I'd hate to see the girl hurt." </p><p>Narcissa nodded. She understood the concern. "I'm hoping he never does," she confessed shamefully. She'd truly loved Lucius, she had, but he'd done so wrong by their family, and he deserved to be where he was now, forever. "Quite frankly his opinion doesn't mean a damn thing as long as my son is happy and healthy. My granddaughter as well."</p><p>Andromeda looked at her sister, studying her face. She seemed sincere. "Well, I hope that's true." She wouldn't say it, but her sister was a follower. It was much easier to say those things, and believe them, when Lucius was locked away. But still, something just didn't sit right with her, she simply couldn't put her finger on it, though. She turned to Narcissa. "Well, is there anything I can help with?" She asked, considering guests would be arriving before long.</p><p>Before Narcissa could answer there was a knock at the door. Guests were beginning to arrive. "Bring that juice out to the great room?" She suggested, pushing away from the island and going to get the door. </p><p>The party went by rather simply. Everyone at Narcissa’s flawless pastries and other refreshments, games were played. Once the guests had arrived, Draco wasn’t burdened with taking care of Teddy much at all. Hermione had been right, he’d been passed around quite a bit.</p><p>Teddy wasn’t the only baby being passed around at the party. Luna had attended, her newborn baby boy in tow. Draco had never realized just how small a newborn baby was. He’d been terrified to hold him, but as stubborn as ever, needed to prove to himself that he could handle it, so that he wouldn’t be in a panic the day Gwendolyn arrived.</p><p>By the time the presents were being opened, Hermione was sitting sideways on the sofa, her back against the tall arm of the couch, and one foot in Draco’s lap, which he massaged while she opened her gifts. Surprisingly, he was having a pretty good time, especially since he was focusing on making sure that Hermione enjoyed herself. He did what he could, bringing her snacks and drinks as needed, helping her up and down from her seat, and anything else she needed. </p><p>Andromeda did what she could to help the party run smoothly, but for the most part, she stayed back and watched, observed. She was extremely curious, seeing her sister interacting with muggles, trying to make nice. Seeing her nephew hovering over his pregnant muggleborn, fulfilling her every need. It was sweet, but she'd seen it before, she just couldn't remember..</p><p>She stood up, her eyes falling on Narcissa, "Amore patris tui!" She said, a sudden realization, her voice accusatory. The room had gone quiet, aside from Teddy's babbling. "You did it again, didn't you?" She asked her sister in disbelief. She was sure she was right, the way everyone had been so surprised at Christmas, the way he was taking such care of her, it was the only thing that made sense.</p><p>Narcissa’s eyes went wide, and she stood from where she was sitting in a chair near the fireplace. “Andromeda,” she said nervously. “Sister, please, don’t.” The last thing this otherwise perfect afternoon needed was for her secret to be outed. Her son would be furious, his girlfriend crushed. The point of the spell was for those affected to never know.</p><p>Draco looked between his mother and aunt in confusion, before turning his attention to Hermione, and then his aunt again, waiting to hear what she’d say next.</p><p>Andromeda didn't need to hear or see any more, the look on her sisters' face was enough to tell her she was correct. "How could you? Your own son!"</p><p>Hermione was looking between the two women, her heart hammering in her chest. If she'd never heard of the spell, she was sure she'd be just as confused as Draco seemed to be. But she had heard of it, and while she didn't know every detail about the spell, she knew enough to know that it would have a devastating effect on the picture she had in her head of what their life could be. She stared at Narcissa, tears forming in her eyes, hoping that she would deny it.</p><p>Draco didn’t know what they were talking about, but he now knew it had to do with him. He looked at Hermione and found she was about to cry. “What’s happening?” He looked at his mother. “What have you done?” He was more confused than accusatory, but if it was bad enough to make Hermione cry then it must not be good.</p><p>Narcissa felt her heart pounding in her chest. “It’s not what you think,” she said. “It was years ago. I was scared that he-” She looked at her son, and his tearful girlfriend. She turned her attention to her son. “I was just trying to help.”</p><p>Hermione felt sick to her stomach, she also felt stupid for letting her guard down. She should have known it was too good to be true. She pulled her foot away from Draco, turning to look at him. "Amore petris tui. It's a spell. It..it means Father's love." Hermione explained to him gently, the tears were streaming down her cheeks now. Draco was smart, she was sure he would understand the purpose of the spell, at the very least. </p><p>Draco didn’t take long to put it together. He shook his head, in denial. “No…” He looked at his mother, and back at Hermione. “No, Hermione, I don’t believe it.” Yes, he was definitely in denial. He turned back to his mother. “Why would you do this? Why would you think that would help me?” He was offended, and hurt.</p><p>Narcissa was bordering on tears herself. “You were different then. People talked about you, I knew the path you were going down, the way you were treating the girls who liked you.” She wished there weren’t a dozen other people in the room. This wasn’t how she’d want him to find out. Hell, she never wanted him to find out. </p><p>Draco shook his head. “No, this is bullshit. I don’t believe it. You cannot stand there and tell me that my feelings for her aren’t real!” He turned to Hermione, grabbing her hand. “Don’t believe it. Don’t let them tell you that I don’t love you!” Hell, he’d never actually told her himself, but he’d never get the chance if she couldn’t trust that his feelings were genuine, rather than the result of some stupid spell.</p><p>Hermione didn't want to believe it, Draco was begging her not to and she wanted to live with him in a bubble of denial, but she was too practical for that. She tried to ignore the other girls in the room, but she also wished to curl into herself and disappear. </p><p>She stared into Draco's eyes, her vision blurred by tears. "I know you mean it, Draco, I can tell." She assured him, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes with her free hand. "But that doesn't mean that your feelings aren't caused by the spell." She nearly choked on the words, and looked away from him, to his mother and his aunt. "What can we do? Can't it be undone?" She pleaded. How could she go on not knowing? It felt wrong, like he'd been made a prisoner, sentenced to love her because he'd made a mistake. Because they'd made a mistake. </p><p>Andromeda felt horribly guilty watching Hermione, and Draco, but this wasn't her doing. "I've seen this before." She said, giving her sister a cold look, keeping her eyes on her as she spoke. "When the child was born, the fathers' love for the mother was only temporary. His child was the one he truly loved." She finally looked back to the young couple, deep regret in her tone. "I am truly sorry." </p><p>Narcissa narrowed her tear-filled eyes at her sister and stormed out of the room, into the kitchen. She was horrified, and guilty, and devastated to have hurt her son, and Hermione, for that matter. How could her sister do that? How could she say it, in front of everyone, humiliating their entire family?</p><p>Draco watched his mother go, unable to answer Hermione’s question. That didn’t give him much hope. He looked back at Hermione. “But that’s not long now,” he realized. “She’ll be here soon.” Even if the spell couldn’t be removed, it’d only be two weeks until his affection shifted to the baby rather than the mother carrying her. Then he’d be able to prove that he did in fact care about her. It had to be true, otherwise he didn’t know how he’d ever face her again. </p><p>Hermione couldn't believe the turn of events, and on the day of her baby shower! She supposed it was her fault for meddling, and inviting Andromeda in the first place. But at least now she could be prepared for the worst. It wouldn't be a mystery if he suddenly only loved the child they'd made together. "So we'll wait and see what happens, and enjoy the time we have until then." She said resolutely, trying to be brave. </p><p>Andromeda collected Teddy from Ginny's lap, frowning at the partygoers. "I should go, I didn't mean for this to happen but..you deserved to know." She wished there was something more she could do, but as Draco had said, it wouldn't be long before they would know how he truly felt. </p><p>Draco was somewhere between sad and mad. He wanted to rip into his mother about having the audacity to think so little of him that she would resort to such a thing, but he was disappointed in himself for being a person she could think that about, because that fear wasn’t based on nothing. “It’s going to be okay,” he told Hermione. “It’s fine. We’re going to be fine.” The idea that he could wake up one morning and look at the woman next to him, and not be head over heels for her seemed… impossible. “The spell doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change anything. You’ll see.”</p><p>Hermione watched Andromeda leave, she wanted to stop her and ask her a hundred questions. She said she'd seen it before, and it sounded like his mother had been the one to do it. But she thought it would be better to let her leave, Narcissa had seemed very upset, as she should. She didn't want them fighting, though, as that would only make things worse. "I know, Draco. I trust you." She tried to seem reassuring, but she was scared. What was already going to be a very hard, scary day would only be made worse by the fear that she would no longer have Draco after their daughter came into the world. </p><p>Draco was glad that she believed him, he just wished he knew how to guarantee it. The party had been pretty much ruined at that point, and for the rest of the evening all Draco could think about was his relationship with Hermione. From the moment he’d learned of her pregnancy everything had changed. What had started out as a hobby, harassing her, hitting on her, reminding her of their time together and letting her know that he was interested in repeating the experience, had quickly shifted into what he would almost call an obsession. He craved to be near her. He smothered her with attention. Forced his presence on her. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she hadn’t caved and let him in. It went so far beyond sex he didn’t know how to describe it. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed possible that it was all just the spell at work. Merlin, he hoped that wasn’t true.</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next several weeks were difficult. Not only was Hermione in the final stage of her pregnancy, quite literally about to burst, but she now had this looming question hanging over her like a ton of bricks. Would Draco still love her when she had given birth to their daughter?</p><p>He was doing everything he could to prove his love to her, but all she saw was a spell in progress, and it hurt. It hurt to think that once she was no longer pregnant, Draco might no longer care for her. And what was worse, she was expected to live with his mother and raise their daughter with her. How would she go through with that if it turned out Draco had never actually cared for her?</p><p>She couldn't shake it from her mind, and could only muster a feigned smile whenever Draco attempted to assure her that it would be fine. She was two days over her due date now, she'd been to see the healer, who said she saw no need to rush things along. It was perfectly normal to go over the due date during your first pregnancy. </p><p>Hermione had read all about it, so when she began feeling contractions shortly after lunch, she knew by how weak, and far apart they were, that she had plenty of time before the baby would be coming. She was certain she'd be able to finish her classes for the day. </p><p>Each contraction felt like a cramp in her stomach, like all the muscles tightening. It was uncomfortable, but she had only a handful of students notice. When they asked if she was okay, she assured them she was fine. Everything was fine. She could handle it. They weren't even that bad yet. </p><p>By the time dinner was nearing, her contractions had become more intense, and she had to hold on to the edges of her desk to make it through each one. She knew this was attracting some serious attention now, and was relieved when they were released for dinner. She threw her bag over her shoulder, and began moving with the crowd towards the marble staircases. She had almost made it to the top of the stairs, heading down, when she felt an odd sensation, like a water balloon had just popped inside of her. She froze, looking down at the floor to see that she was now standing in a puddle. </p><p>People pushed past her, seemingly unaware, until one girl nearly slipped in it, and realized what had happened. </p><p>"Oh, Merlin, your water broke! Her water broke!" The girl called, calling everyone's attention to Hermione. </p><p>"I'm fine, really-" Hermione was assuring her, and everyone else who was now crowding her, but the contraction that came next was the worst one yet. Hermione held onto her stomach, having nothing else to grab onto. </p><p>Draco heard news of the commotion and rushed to find Hermione. He'd been telling her for days she needed to stop while she was ahead, quit going to classes, but she'd been determined to attend until she couldn't any longer, and apparently her stubbornness paid off. He found her at the top of the staircase, trapped in her spot with a crowd of anxious students around her. Draco began clearing them out, telling them to give her some space. He ordered one student to go get the healer, another informed him that someone had already gone to do just that. </p><p>"Are you alright?" He asked Hermione, drying the puddle with a quick spell to prevent anyone, especially her, from slipping in it, again. Her face was red, probably from trying to hide what pain she was in. "Have you been in labor long?"</p><p>Hermione was relieved when Draco showed up, and she held onto his arm for support. "I'm fine," she answered quickly. This was supposed to happen, she just needed to get to the infirmary. "The contractions started after lunch, but-" she stopped talking, instead squeezing his arm as another intense contraction hit her. Merlin, she hoped she hadn't waited too long. She could not have her baby in a corridor. </p><p>"Fuck," Draco exclaimed. "You've been in labor for hours? How could you not tell me?" They'd even had a class together that afternoon. How could she have managed to hide that from him? He supported her weight through what appeared to be a very painful contraction. "We've gotta get you to-" just then he heard the healer shout at students to clear the way. As she cleared through the crowd he saw that she'd brought a levitating stretcher, charmed to levitate perfectly level at all times for the patient's comfort and safety. "Oh thank merlin."</p><p>"I had it under control!" She said sharply, in no mood to be made to feel bad. She knew he would have made a fuss if she'd told him, she'd be made to wait around in the infirmary for hours with nothing actually happening. Hermione looked up when she heard the healer, and was relieved to see she wouldn't have to try and make it down all those stairs. She didn't think she could at this point. Before she could think about getting onto the stretcher, another contraction hit her, and Hermione held her breath, her eyes closing tightly. "Oh God, they're coming fast now." She said, starting to panic now. "I'm not ready." She was still holding onto Draco for support, and beginning to feel far too hot in her school robes. </p><p>"Come now, we need to get her on the gurney, everything will be fine once we get her to the hospital wing." The healer said calmly. </p><p>Once Draco had helped Hermione into the stretcher, he followed the healer, who was levitating it for them. Draco didn't think he had calm enough nerves to help, not trusting his magic in his currently growing state of panic. They made it to the hospital wing with time to spare, but not much. </p><p>Everything was happening too fast, which was ironic considering she'd been keeping her labor pains to herself all afternoon. Hermione had to enlist Draco's help in getting her clothes off so she could get into a gown, which was not an easy feat when Gwendolyn was so dead set on coming out. She had to stop every time a contraction came, and at the same time the healer was rushing her to get into the hospital bed so she could check how far along Hermione was dilated.</p><p>It turned out she was nearly ready to start pushing. After just a half hour of intense contractions her body was telling her to push, the healer had told her she would know when the time came, and she did. It was painful, but also amazing, scary, exciting. But at the back of her mind she was still thinking about Draco, wondering what would happen to them when this was over. He was right by her side through it all, holding her hand, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a cold, wet cloth, and reassuring her that she could do this every time she insisted she simply couldn't go on. She treasured every moment of it, not knowing what would become of them when she finally managed to bring their daughter into this world. </p><p>She pushed during every contraction for what felt like forever, but was probably less than an hour. She was finally done, and the healer cleaned Gwendolyn up and handed her to Hermione, who stared down at her in awe, tears still in her eyes from pushing. She was crying when Hermione received her, but she slowly calmed against her chest, and Hermione looked up at Draco, searching his expression. </p><p>Draco stared down at his newborn daughter, and his heart hurt it was so full. He'd never seen anything so beautiful in all his life. They'd made her, they'd actually created her. It'd never occurred to him what a miracle it was until he'd witnessed it in action. "You did so good," Draco told Hermione, finally looking up at her. He grinned, and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. "I'm so proud of you." He kissed her a second time, this time on the forehead.</p><p>Hermione closed her eyes when he kissed her forehead, relieved. He seemed like her Draco, and she finally had her baby girl in her arms. She stared down at her, in total bliss. Besides being tired and hungry, she felt just fine now that she'd gotten through labor. She was amazed her first time trying to breastfeed, after she got over the frustration of getting her to latch for the first time. </p><p>When Gwendolyn had eaten, the healer took her from Hermione to perform some tests, make sure she was healthy, and she also insisted Hermione needed to rest. Reluctantly, Hermione listened to the advice, because she was truly exhausted. With very little effort, she managed to fall asleep, a seemingly dreamless sleep. </p><p>When she woke, she had no idea how much time had passed. "Draco?" She said sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "How long was I out?" She asked, stifling a yawn. </p><p>Draco was sitting in a chair across the room from Hermione, in front of a window so that he could look at his little girl in the sunlight. When he heard Hermione he looked over at her and sighed. "Not long enough I suppose," he drawled, turning to look down at the newborn again. </p><p>Hermione pushed herself into a sitting position, scanning the room until her eyes landed on him. Her stomach dropped, not just at his words, but the way he said them. He was focused on the newborn in his arms again, sitting in the window, the both of them bathed in sunlight. She had to have heard him wrong, or perhaps he was paying a very cruel joke? She got out of bed carefully, she was sore, but the healer had told her there was no reason she wouldn't be able to get up once she was rested. She crossed the room, peering down at the baby in his arms. "I-Is she doing alright? Can I hold her?" She asked delicately, sure that any moment he would smile at her and tell her he'd been joking. </p><p>Draco looked up at Hermione with a raised brow, looking her over as if she was some stranger who'd just walked in off the street, asking to hold his child. As if! "She's quite fine thank you. I'll let you know when she's hungry, mudblood." She'd served her purpose in growing a healthy child, and more all she was needed for was nourishment. </p><p>Hermione's mouth fell open in disbelief, stunned and hurt by his words. So much so that she nearly forgot that she was Gwendolyn's mother, and he had no right to keep them apart. "So, it was just the spell." She said softly.. She could feel angry, hot tears streaking down her face, at a loss for what to do. "Well, however you feel about me, that's my daughter you're holding, and I won't let you keep her from me." She told him, her voice trembling as she spoke. She couldn't simply wrestle her daughter from his arms, but she wouldn't be treated this way. "Give her to me." She demanded, not wishing to involve anyone else. Her heart was breaking, but more than anything, she was scared, unsure if she could really stop him if he chose not to let her be part of their daughters life. </p><p>Draco rose from his seat carefully, cradling his daughter securely in his arms. "I can't believe you actually thought I loved you. I can't believe I actually thought I loved you!" He chuckled wickedly. "I do have to thank you, though, she's damn near perfect, if not for her blood." He looked at Hermione, looked her over. "You're a right mess you know. You should head back to your dorm, get a shower in." He crinkled his nose in disgust. "I'm sure she'll be hungry again by then, and then you can hold her."</p><p>Hermione stepped back, his words ripped through her. Even with the knowledge that this might happen, she couldn't have prepared herself for it. "You don't mean that," she said in a shaky, quiet voice, her tone pleading. What would she do now? The plans they'd had were ruined, she couldn't live with his mother, in that house, she couldn't live with him like this! But she couldn't be away from her baby, either. She looked at him, his expression the reflection of the horrible little boy she remembered from their younger years, and to their baby in his arms, and she let out a sob.</p><p>She started awake at the sound of her own crying, the hair surrounding her face was wet with tears. She opened her eyes, confused, and turned to see Draco was sitting beside her bed, Gwendolyn cradled in his arms. His words were still echoing in her head, cutting her deeply, and she was too scared to speak. Too scared that he really didn't love her anymore.</p><p>Draco heard Hermione fussing in her sleep, and turned from his spot beside her bed, carefully freeing one hand to reach for hers. "Hey," Draco said to her with a warm smile. "You're awake." That was good, because his arm was starting to camp from holding Gwendolyn in the same position for so long. "You've been sleeping for hours, you must have been exhausted." Pomfrey had been kind enough to have their dinners brought up for them, hers was still on the tray with a warming charm to keep it fresh. </p><p>Hermione grasped his hand, squeezing it, relief rushing over her as he smiled warmly at her. It'd been a dream, a terrible nightmare. If Draco had lost any of the feelings he had for her, he gave no sign of it. She gave his hand a gentle tug, pulling him towards her. "Come here," she said softly, wiping at her face with her other hand. The tears had been real, but luckily what had caused them had been her own fear. </p><p>Draco moved closer to her, getting up to sit on the edge of her bed carefully. “Do you want to take her?” he offered. “Or are you hungry? I’ve got your dinner here.” He let out a content sigh. “She’s perfect,” he told her. </p><p>Hermione moved her legs to make room for him, sitting up as he sat on the edge of her bed. "Yes, I want her." She told him with a smile, food could wait. She held her arms out, accepting the small bundle, and gazing down at her with a grin. "She really is perfect. We did good." She said, prying her eyes away to look up at Draco. She shifted Gwendolyn to one arm, reaching the other hand out to stroke his cheek with her thumb. "Do you feel any different?" She asked him gently.</p><p>Draco looked at Gwendolyn, and looked back up at Hermione. “I feel… Full.” He’d thought he felt happy these last few months with Hermione, but he realized now that it was nothing compared to being a father now. He had no idea what he was doing, and he was scared out of his wits. “I can’t wait to figure this all out with you,” he told her. He hated that he still had a few months of school left before he could be at home with her and the baby. “She’s got your curls,” Draco pointed out, now that her hair had had time to dry. She had his pale blonde color, but her spiraly texture.</p><p>Hermione was grinning up at him as he spoke, only looking down when he mentioned her curls. She let out a soft laugh, not wanting to startle the baby. "Oh yeah, she does. Poor thing." She said, gently stroking what little hair she had. "It's so soft." She commented, she was in total awe of the tiny human they'd created. </p><p>“Like I said,” Draco said, moving his gaze from the baby back to Hermione. “She’s perfect.” The perfect blend of him and her. “She’s going to be a genius,” he told her. “And gorgeous, of course.” They were both good looking, and brilliant, and despite all their differences, they were intellectually matched. There was no reason, absolutely no reason, why he wouldn’t love this girl for the rest of his life, spell or no spell. After everything they’d been through, especially.</p><p>Hermione smiled up at him as he spoke, feeling much more at peace. She could tell he meant it, she sighed happily up at him. "I love you," she said, the words just falling out of her mouth without a thought. It was how she really felt, and almost losing him to that spell had opened her eyes to how lucky she was.</p><p>Draco’s smile grew gradually, a very poor representation of the way his heart was screaming on the inside. “You’ve been a tough egg to crack, Hermione Granger,” he told her with a smirk. “I love you too.” He leaned in and kissed her, smiling against her lips. </p><p>Hermione kissed him back with a smile that matched his. She pulled away after a moment, "Thanks for being patient." She said, before looking down at Gwendolyn again. She couldn't keep her eyes off of her.</p><p>“I told you, Hermione, that spell didn’t mean anything. Sure, it might have amplified things, but it didn’t change the fact that the events on my birthday changed everything.” He looked down at the baby in her arms. If it hadn’t been for that stupid bet between his friends they could have been so much further along in their relationship. They could have had all nine months together, instead of her spending those months pushing him away. “I was always going to fall in love with you. It was inevitable.”</p><p>Hermione felt tears forming in her eyes again as he spoke, but this time they were happy tears. She let out a happy sob, her tears spilling over. "You're going to make a great father, you know. And you look damn good with a baby in your arms." She told him happily. "I wish we could stay here with you." She reached out to grab his hand again.  She wasn't sure how she would get through the next few months only seeing him on weekends. </p><p>“I know,” Draco agreed. “But my mother will be a much bigger help to you than I could ever be.” At least his mother had already raised a baby, and presumably knew what she was doing. After all, she’d raised him. “And I’ll be there on the weekends, every weekend. From the moment I finish my last class on Friday until the moment I have to be there for my first class Monday.” Three out of seven nights a week wasn’t so bad, even if it was only two days.</p><p>Hermione nodded, she knew it would be fine. And once he was out of school they would have plenty of time to be together. "Your mum.." she said at the mention of her, and looked down at Gwen. "You should write her, let her know everything turned out okay." She told him, and looked back to him with a smile. "And tell her, for me, that I'm not upset with her." She added. Things at the party had ended a bit tense, and she hadn't spoken to her since.</p><p>Draco nodded, grinning. “I already have. I told her she didn’t need to come but don’t be surprised if she comes through those doors any minute to meet her grandchild.”</p><p>Hermione grinned at him, her heart swelling. "Well look at you, and you did all of that with a newborn baby?" She asked him. She may have sounded teasing, but she was genuinely impressed that he was so prepared, that he'd had the forethought to not only write his mother, but her parents as well.</p><p>Draco grinned. “Well Pomfrey may have given me a break to eat while Gwenny was sleeping,” he told her. “I wrote while I ate.” He didn’t want her to think he was some sort of super-dad and set the bar too high.</p><p>Hermione laughed at his confession, "Still impressive," she assured him. "And have you changed your first nappy?" She asked, suddenly feeling like she'd missed a lot during the few hours she'd been sleeping. She wondered if it would always feel like that.</p><p>Draco laughed. “Merlin no, saved that honor just for you,” he told her. His eyes repeatedly darted to the baby in her arms, it was hard to take them off of her. She was awake again, squirming slightly, making tiny noises. It blew his mind, this full-fledged human being had been inside of Hermione all these months, growing, preparing for the world. </p><p>Hermione laughed, bouncing Gwen in her arms a bit. "Well get me a diaper and some baby wipes, you'll be watching so you can learn." She informed him with a grin. "Remember how eager you were to figure this all out?" She reminded him. She was pretty sure it was time to feed her, and she knew changing her diaper first was important, especially this young, so they could track how much she was going. She read plenty of books, but she still felt a little clueless in some ways. </p><p>Draco let out a small laugh and moved gingerly off the bed, going to retrieve the items she requested. He’d been shown a few things by Pomfrey, but this would be new to him. He returned with the nappy and wipes and passed them to her. He couldn’t wait to see Hermione at work, putting all those months of parenting research to use. She was going to be a natural, he could tell.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Check it out everyone, there is now a final chapter count! You know what that means. We're nearing the end of this story. Don't be sad! Once this story is over I'll be introducing a new Dramione story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione and babe were released from the hospital the following morning. Draco didn't leave Hermione's side, watching over her and their daughter for hours while they slept until sleep inevitably took him too. They ate their breakfast in the hospital before, as had been jokingly predicted, Narcissa arrived at the infirmary to meet her granddaughter and assist them home. </p><p>Draco could feel tension in the air between them and his mother. They hadn't had time to unpack the drama that had arisen at Hermione's shower. Thankfully, Hermione seemed too exhausted and too thankful for the help to waste energy on being upset about the weeks of trouble she'd caused them. The spell had done its job. The worst of it was over. The shift in Draco's affection had taken effect, and he was completely and madly in love with his newborn daughter. </p><p>Thankfully, the ways that he and Hermione had bonded in recent months could not be undone. He still looked at her and saw a strong, powerful, beautiful witch who was going to be an amazing mother. Merlin knew she got plenty of practice with Potter and Weasley over the years. But then, perhaps he'd always seen her that way, if not also a pain in the arse know-it-all who always knew exactly how to get under his skin. He probably just appreciated it more now that he slept in the same bed as her.</p><p>They arrived home in time for lunch, which Narcissa took upon herself to have prepared for them. It was clear to him that this was her way of working up to an apology. First with service, then with food, and then finally, if she hadn't been forgiven already, with words. </p><p>“Here,” she offered, reaching for Gwendolyn to take her off of Hermione’s hands so that she could eat. “You can’t feed her if you don’t eat.” She gave the young witch as warm a smile she knew how. “You’re doing great. Let me help you. It’s why I’m here.” She knew she owed these kids a debt, but maybe, just maybe, her spell had made the situation better, not worse.</p><p>Hermione had spent a lot of time thinking about what Narcissa had done. After the horrible dream she'd had, she was grateful to wake and find Draco was still himself. She did, however, wonder what he would be like towards Gwendolyn if his mother hadn't meddled. But at the same time Hermione could understand why she might have felt the need to take such precautions, now that she had a daughter of her own. </p><p>For this reason, she decided that at the very least, she wouldn't be rude to Narcissa. She still didn't know her very well, but even she could tell that his mother was attempting to make up for her wrongdoings. She passed Gwendolyn over with a smile, "Thank you, this is lovely." Hermione said, referring to the lunch she'd had prepared for them. Hermione sat at the table without hesitation, and began to make herself a plate. </p><p>After taking a few bites, and properly swallowing her food, Hermione spoke up. "Draco has been great too, you know. He's not left our sides." She informed Narcissa, smiling warmly at Draco. </p><p>Draco smiled at Hermione as he brought his fork to his mouth. “Don’t listen to her, Mum. I haven’t done a thing except hold Gwenny and hold Hermione’s hand.” He laughed and put the food in his mouth finally.</p><p>Narcissa looked between the teens, who despite being parents themselves still looked to her like children. “Don’t sell yourself short, Draco. Sometimes all you can do is be a support to your partner.” She was silent for a few moments while the kids ate before conceding to her guilt. “I’m sorry,” she confessed, which didn’t feel good at all. “I know that what I did hurt you. I just hope that the two of you can understand that at the time, I was sure I was doing a necessary evil.” It was bad enough to think that her son could be someone who was careless with the hearts of women. To then fear that he might be a deadbeat of a father, she simply couldn’t live with it.</p><p>Hermione nodded, "I understand, it all worked out just fine." Hermione assured her. She knew that if her dream had been real, this conversation would be going very differently, but luckily, Draco seemed perfectly happy to be her boyfriend, and partner in life. She took another bite of her food, mulling over a question she wanted to ask, before finally finding the courage to ask.</p><p>"Your sister said she'd seen the spell done before. She seemed to be insinuating that you were the one to perform then, as well." It seemed like an observation, but she was sure Narcissa would see it as a question, as she intended.</p><p>Narcissa frowned, then nodded. “Yes, it’s true. I did perform the spell once before. A close friend of mine at Hogwarts fell pregnant, and the wizard who’d gotten her that way couldn’t be bothered to give her a second look, much less step in to marry her and raise her baby with her. I was young, and angry.” She shook her head at her own stupidity. “I found the spell, and I cast the charm on him thinking that it would solve all her problems, and it did, until the baby was born. The moment he laid eyes on his son he returned to his original dismissive, heartless self. My friend was heartbroken. By then they’d already married, and for many years she was miserable in a loveless marriage, but he remained a devoted and loving father, and they eventually grew comfortable in their life together, like many arranged marriages.”</p><p>She looked at her son. “I wasn’t going to let you be one of those boys, Draco. The kind who would neglect your responsibilities as a father. So when I heard that you were developing a reputation for leaving a trail of broken hearts in your wake I had to intervene.” She turned to Hermione now, and reached one hand out, placing it gently on the younger witch’s arm. “But the real apology goes to you. I knew that if the time ever came that the spell would go into effect, there was a chance that Draco would not be able to retain those affections once the baby was born. I knew that Draco wasn’t a monster, not the way that my friend’s husband was at that age. I hoped-” She let out a sigh. “Well, we all know how it turned out don’t we? Draco didn’t need a spell to stay in love with you.”</p><p>Hermione listened as Narcissa told them the story of her friend, and explained herself. When she apologized, Hermione offered her a smile, placing a hand over her hand that rested on her arm. "I understand, I thought about it a lot and.. well, if Gwen were in my shoes, and I thought her boyfriend didn't care about her, I'd have done the spell, too." She told her. It was her job to look out for Draco, and she thought she was doing what she had to. Luckily, it was an unnecessary precaution. </p><p>“I knew it was a risk,” the new grandmother admitted. “But I trusted that my son would at the very least develop a certain affection for the mother of his child. It was a risk I was willing to take.</p><p>“Now wait a minute,” Draco said, feeling as though they’d forgotten he was in the room. “A trail of broken hearts in my wake? That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” He looked to Hermione, who would know better than his mother would. “It’s not as though I’ve ever created a false pretense of loving someone…” He looked to his mother again. “Pansy Parkinson was an immortal gnat that I couldn’t seem to shake. It’s not my fault that she was willing to go dow-” He remembered who he was talking to. “It’s not my fault she would go to any lengths to earn my attention when I made it perfectly clear time and time again I wasn’t interested.”</p><p>Hermione looked at Draco, laughing slightly at his defensiveness. "Yes, he's right. I never had any delusions going into it that it would end up...well, like this." She admitted. He'd never promised to love her forever the first time they'd shagged, they'd done it because they both had wanted to have some fun. "Though I can't speak to his relationship with Pansy. We weren't exactly...friends, at the time." She said, giving him a slight smirk. She didn't know much about Pansy, aside from the fact that she'd always enjoyed trying to humiliate Hermione when she had the chance.</p><p>Draco snorted a short laugh. That was an understatement. "That's because there was no relationship, she just never seemed to want to accept that fact." Had he used her? Yes, but she'd only made it too easy, and he hadn't given any false pretense of his intentions. "Can we stop talking about my love life now?"</p><p>Narcissa laughed at her son's discomfort. "Oh alright. You two finish your lunch. I believe I have a nappy to change." Holding the newborn securely with both hands, the grandmother rose from the table and disappeared into the other room. </p><p>Draco was dismissed from his classes for the rest of the week, which was lucky because Gwendolyn had been born on a Monday. March first, to be exact. He got to spend six whole days at home with Hermione and the baby before being forced to return to his education. He would never admit that he was grateful for the break, but as soon as he was back in his original dorm he ached to be home with them again. </p><p>It was strange, someone else living in Hermione's room. The elves had packed all their things and moved them into Draco's dorm to make room for the new Head Girl. It was the Ravenclaw prefect that she'd chosen to take over in her absence, and despite her obvious dislike for Hermione and her whole pregnancy scandal, Draco had to admit she was the one most suited for the role. </p><p>The following Friday didn't come soon enough. He went straight from his final class of the day up to the Headmistress' office so that he could floo home. He couldn't help but worry about how well the two women had gotten along in his absence. Surely his mother was attempting to train Hermione in the ways of a pureblood wife. He was also sure that was going over just swimmingly with his girlfriend. </p><p>Hermione was grateful for the time she'd gotten with Draco before he had to return to school. She was sure she would miss it, moss being at school, the responsibility that came with it, but she really only missed him. The days without Draco there were strange, but then everything felt strange to Hermione these days. It almost felt like she was intruding in Narcissa's home, she'd been the one to decorate, and she put off such an air of authority and purpose that Hermione often felt she was in the older woman's way.</p><p>That being said, she was a great help to Hermione, who, no matter how natural she was at it, hadn't a clue what she was doing. She'd read all the books, but it didn't compare to having already raised a child once before. When Gwen was screaming her head off, and Hermione was at a loss for what to do, Narcissa would swoop in and calm her, simply by walking around the house, talking to her in sweet, little whispers that seemed to calm Gwen down easily. </p><p>It didn't take long for Hermione to pick up on these little tricks, and by Friday she was much better at calming the sometimes irate newborn. She definitely had gotten both Hermione, and Draco's tempers. When Hermione became aware that classes would soon be wrapping up, she sat in front of the fireplace, Gwen in her arms. She'd gotten both of them ready, and looking nice. Hermione had found that Narcissa had taken the liberty of at least tripling the amount of baby clothes they had for Gwen, and there were all sorts of cute dresses, and tiny little outfits that were both comfortable, and stylish. </p><p>When the green flames appeared, Hermione stood, adjusting the baby in her arms so Gwen could see Draco arriving, as well. With a grin, Hermione stood and walked to the fireplace, pulling Draco out, and into a kiss with her free arm. She didn't care if he was covered in soot, she'd missed him desperately.</p><p>Draco barely had time to take in the sight of them before she was kissing him, and he kissed her back passionately. He released her and tore his eyes away to look down at his daughter. She was less than two weeks old now, but she was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. "Has she gotten bigger? She's gotten bigger." He reached to take her from Hermione's arms, craving to hold her himself. It was quite impossible how much he loved the little pink infant. </p><p>Hermione grinned down at Gwen, releasing her to Draco when he reached for her. "It's hard for me to say, but I do know she's gotten much stronger. She's been practicing holding her head up already." She told Draco proudly. "And you should see how close she gets to rolling over already!" She told him with a grin. </p><p>Draco raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, assuming she was exaggerating. "Don't tell me that. I need my little girl to stay little for as long as possible." It was bad though he was going to miss most of the first four months of her life. His gaze moved back to Gwen, cradled in his arms as securely as possible without squeezing her. "And how are you? How are things with mum?"</p><p>Hermione smiled, watching him with Gwen. It honestly changed her whole perspective of him, seeing him as a father. "We're getting along fine. She's been a huge help." She told him honestly. "It was only awkward for a few days, I've actually learned a lot from her." She informed him with a smile. "She's really good with Gwen, they adore each other." She added.</p><p>Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from Gwen. "That's good. I'm really glad to hear it. I'm going crazy without you at school. Everyone is asking about her, and you. They send their love." Finally he managed to look at Hermione again, offering her a warm smile. </p><p>Each weekend went on like that for several weeks, before Narcissa saw that the two teens were feeling a bit run down. It was the start of April, and the veteran parent thought the rookies could use a break, together. It was Friday, Draco would be home any minute, and Narcissa had prepared a surprise for them. She'd packed bags for each of them, and reserved a suite in one of her favorite vacation resorts. When she heard the fireplace roar to life in the sitting room she knew that Draco had arrived, and now would be the time to announce her plan. She lingered only a moment to allow the couple to greet each other (it was adorable the way Hermione sat and waited for him every Friday) before entering the room, their packed suitcases in hand. </p><p>Draco looked up over Hermione in confusion. "Going somewhere?" He was sure his mother had agreed to stay through the summer. In fact he worried he'd have trouble getting rid of her when the time came. </p><p>"Not me," she told them with a knowing smirk. "You two."</p><p>Hermione was leaning against Draco, she'd already handed Gwen over, and was watching his face as he stared down at their daughter adoringly. She never got tired of watching his face light up when he saw her, she didn't even mind that he always seemed more excited to see Gwen than he was to see her. </p><p>When Narcissa came into the room, bags in hand, Hermione lifted her head and looked at her curiously. "Us?" She asked, intrigued, though maybe a little apprehensive. She said two, which meant Gwen would not be going. As much as she wanted a break, it made her nervous to be away from her baby. "You're sending us somewhere?" She reached over, holding Gwen's tiny hand as she spoke. She supposed it would be nice to have some time with just Draco, they hadn't… connected… in a while.</p><p>"Yes," Narcissa answered. "The two of you need a little time to recover, and frankly, you need some time alone. You're adults now, and I'm aware that I must be… interfering, with your ability to enjoy each other." There was no sense in ignoring their adult needs. They'd just had a child together, they were clearly sexually active. "Now I'll trade you that baby for this portkey," she said, holding up a chipped mug. "Or else it'll be me enjoying a romantic vacation for two."</p><p>Hermione looked from Narcissa, to Draco, blushing slightly at the insinuation, however true it may be. It did sound nice, though, a romantic getaway for the two of them. "That's really sweet, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us." Hermione said. </p><p>She gave Draco a moment with Gwen, he'd just arrived moment's before, after all. And when he'd had a chance to say goodbye to her, Hermione took her from him to do the same, kissing her little cheek as she asked over to Narcissa. "If anything happens, let us know. We'll come straight back." Hermione said, handing the baby over carefully, and taking the chipped mug from her. She reached down to grab one of the bags, turning back to Draco so he could grab the mug as well. It would be unfortunate if he missed the portkey, and she was sent by herself. </p><p>Draco was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his mother had actually planned a weekend trip for them to go away and… shag. He was reluctant to surrender the baby, but he didn't want to miss the portkey either. "How long until transport?" Draco wondered, wanting to know how much time they had before they had to leave the baby for the weekend. </p><p>Narcissa glanced at the clock on the wall. "About thirty seconds," she told them with a coy smile. "Say buh-bye mommy! Buh-bye daddy," she said, moving Gwendolyn's small hand in a loose waving motion. </p><p>Hermione took the thirty seconds to hand Draco the suitcase she was carrying, and grabbed the other one from the floor. "Bye Gwenny!" She said, almost tearfully. She was torn between being excited for a break with Draco, and feeling bad to be leaving their baby behind. Especially since Draco hadn't gotten a proper visit in. She thrust the mug into Draco's free hand, not wanting him to miss their portkey, she could tell he was quite torn as well. </p><p>Draco barely had time to take the mug and say goodbye before they were whisked away to their surprise destination. When they landed they found themselves in a… hut. A giant, elegant, romantic hut. There was a large round bed, water features, a loveseat swing, and candles everywhere. In a table at a bottle of champagne and a dozen chocolate covered strawberries. It was a tropical climate, which was a very pleasant change. Draco looked at Hermione with a grin. "My mother takes vacationing very seriously."</p><p>Hermione took in her surroundings, the ache of leaving Gwendolyn behind was slightly less as she looked to Draco with a grin. "Clearly. This is..amazing." she said, placing the mug on the closest surface, and setting the suitcase down. "I wondered what she'd been up to all afternoon, I suppose this is it." She said with a laugh. She'd been packing bags, though she'd likely had the trip itself planned already.</p><p>Draco set his bag down as well and pulled Hermione close to him, wrapping his arms around her middle. "I haven't been able to hold you this close in a long time," he teased her. By the time they'd started their relationship she was already very pregnant.</p><p>Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning up at him. "You're not too disappointed about leaving Gwen behind to enjoy this, are you?" She asked him teasingly. She leaned up on her toes to kiss him, smiling against his lips. </p><p>Draco kissed her back with a grin, before deepening the kiss, letting himself enjoy her presence, and the privacy, for the first time in what he was realizing was a very, very long time. After a moment he lifted her up and carried her over to the bed, laying her down and settling on top of her. Hell, just snogging her right now was both relaxing and arousing. </p><p>Hermione helped support her weight as much as she could as he carried her to the bed, pleased that he could lift her at all. Thanks to healer magic, she was mostly back to her old self. She'd healed up completely, and with potions and spells performed by the healer, her internal organs had been returned their natural size. The only thing that was oversized at this point was her breasts, as she'd been breastfeeding and pumping all day, every day since she'd had Gwen. That, and she still had a bit of loose skin on her stomach that hadn't quite returned to normal. And the few stretch marks she had acquired during the pregnancy. The question popped into her head, wondering if his mother had remembered to pack her breast pump, but she held it in, focusing her attention on the man who was now on top of her. "I've missed you," she whispered against his lips as they kissed, her hands moving to his chest to work on the buttons of his shirt.</p><p>Draco paused to look down at her. "I've missed you too." Sure, he'd seen her every weekend, but they'd been in parent mode, and more often than not he'd spent his time with Gwen to let Hermione rest or catch up on school work. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm really looking forward to this." He kissed her again hard while she worked in his shirt, and his hands moved under her shirt to feel her stomach. His hand did not do the trick anymore, and he'd given up on the method months ago. </p><p>Hermione smiled up at him, she was both excited and nervous to be alone with him. She kissed him back, but when his hand moved under her shirt, she squirmed a little, pulling his hand from under her shirt, to her breast, which she was much more comfortable letting him feel. Her stomach didn't look the same, it didn't even feel the same. She wasn't as tight as she'd been their first time, and every time after that, she'd had a large baby bump, which was much more flattering than the loose skin it'd left behind. </p><p>Draco paused and looked down at her. "Don't," he told her gently. "You're not going to hide yourself from me all weekend." He kissed her lovingly, and resumed pushing her shirt up. He wanted to see her, all of her. She hadn't been this shy while she was pregnant, he didn't know why she'd be so insecure now. He broke away from her enough to take off the shirt she'd unbuttoned for him, and to help her out of hers as well. </p><p>Hermione stared up at him, nodding gently. Though it didn't take away the anxiety and fear she felt when she thought about him seeing how much her body had changed. She kissed him back, and when he removed her shirt, she let him, her arms curling over her stomach. It wasn't fair, he was exactly as tight and fit as he'd always been! "Draco, I-" she paused, blushing slightly. "My body isn't the same as it used to be." She told him nervously.</p><p>"Hermione, I put your shoes on your feet when you couldn't bend to reach them yourself. And might I point out that of all the times we’ve had sex the only time you had a flat stomach was the first time.” He knew she was beautiful every time he looked at her, she didn’t need to have a perfect body for him to be attracted to her. At least this time he could see her face because they didn’t have to do it doggy-style for her to be comfortable. “Now please take your close off so that I can make love to you.” He hadn’t been able to do so since actually telling her he loved her. With that said he moved off of the bed in order to get out of his clothes, as quickly as he could manage.</p><p>Hermione knew he was right, she just needed to rip the bandaid off, so to speak. When he moved off the bed, she did as well, and set to work removing what was left of her clothes. When she was completely nude, she stood before him. Though she was nervous, she let her arms hang at her sides, rather than trying to cover herself.</p><p>Draco smiled at her and walked up to her until he stood close enough that her large breasts pressed against his chest. “You look amazing,” he told her, staring down at her. She really didn’t have as much extra weight, which was really only extra skin, as she probably thought she did. She’d always been incredibly thin, which was working in her favor now. “You always look amazing.” He kissed her again, and then grabbed her waist, lifting her once more and tossing her onto the bed. </p><p>Hermione stared up at him, her smile growing as he spoke. She kissed him back, her arms just beginning to snake around his neck when he tossed her onto the bed again. She laughed as he climbed up the end of the bed on top of her. "Thank you." She said with a grin, pulling him into another kiss as soon as he was close enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahhhh! Can you believe we've come so far! Next week is the FINALE CHAPTER!!!!</p>
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<a name="section0027"><h2>27. FINAL CHAPTER</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I want to take a moment to apologize to everyone who's been eagerly awaiting this finale chapter. As some of you may know I've been going through it lately and it's caused a lot of writer's block. I've been gradually pushing through and frankly I didn't want to just force something together without being happy with it. So, with no further adieu....</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Having a whole weekend to relax, hang out, and make love over and over again, had been the best gift they never thought to ask for. Apart from a few moments when Hermione had to take a break to pump her breasts, or they were otherwise distracted with thoughts of their baby girl, they were able to almost forget that they were parents and pretend for two glorious days that they were just a couple of normal teenagers.</p><p>Of course, the weekend had to end, and they apparated home on Sunday evening, not wanting to be away from Gwendolyn any longer. As usual, Draco returned to Hogwarts first thing Monday morning before classes, and Hermione continued learning more and more about being a mother. Not only that, but she got daily not-so-subtle lessons on what was to be expected of a future Mrs. Malfoy, which Hermione had to repeatedly remind her was not technically established. </p><p>April turned into May, and May into June. By the end of June Draco and Hermione both sat their N.E.W.T. exams, and without fail, had both received top marks in each subject. Finally, Draco was able to return home to stay. After a few weeks of adjusting to the new full-time family dynamic, Draco and Hermione had the idea that it was time to invite their friends over for a party to introduce them all to their baby. Of course, Hermione had taken Gwenny to the Burrow once to introduce Harry and the Weasleys back in March, but there was also the large home which Draco was eager to show off. They’d had time now to settle into it, making it their own, and they were quite pleased with what they’d created of what was just months ago a big empty house.</p><p>They invited all of her friends, and several of his, especially those of which he’d attended his birthday party with just over a year ago. If it weren’t for those prats Draco might not have missed out on so many months with the best thing that’d ever happened to him, and he intended to let them know it. </p><p>Narcissa let them plan the party themselves this time, she would attend as a guest only. She was aware that her welcome in the children's home was going to be coming to a close soon enough. They had each other now, and pretty soon Gwendolyn would be sleeping properly through the night. She would rather not overstay her welcome, as much as she did dread returning to the empty Malfoy Manor. </p><p>The invitations were sent, the RSVPs received, and just one week before many of them would be meeting again to celebrate Harry's birthday, guests arrived eager to meet the now almost five month old Gwendolyn. </p><p>Hermione's head was simply spinning from all the party planning. Narcissa had set the bar pretty high with her baby shower, which, aside from the unfortunate reveal of the spell Narcissa had cast on Draco, had gone very well. Hermione planned to prove that she could throw a party just as well, not that she was competing, of course.</p><p>Luckily she had Narcissa to help with Gwendolyn, who had grown so much in the five months she'd spent on this earth. Hermione was simply amazed that the tiny baby, who would sleep all the time, (except at night, of course), and only ate and dirtier her nappies, was already doing so much. She was grabbing for things already, hair especially. She was smiling, they'd even got her to laugh a few times! She was supporting her own head, rolling over, and loved standing with help, and bouncing. She gave the sweetest open mouth kisses, which were so wet, but so precious.</p><p>A timer went off, and Hermione jumped, being pulled back into reality, realizing she was staring off into the yard when she should have been preparing. She pulled the oven open, using her wand to levitate the hot tray of tartlets, which were like tarts, just smaller. She had prepared an array of finger foods for the party, both sweet and savory. There was plenty of alcohol, none of which Hermione would personally be consuming. </p><p>Hermione could hear people beginning to arrive, and she levitated the tray to the counter, and watched as the contents of the tray arranged themselves on a serving platter. She picked up the platter, carrying it to the table where she had the rest of the food arranged, all the hot dishes with heating charms, and anything that needed to stay cool had a cooling charm on it. </p><p>Hermione went to join Draco in greeting people, Harry and Ginny, along with Ron and his apparent date (which was surprising, but fine) had arrived already. Hermione gave them all hugs, including the new but seemingly very nice girl that Ron had brought, before leading them to the kitchen where Hermione had set up a station for drinks, both alcoholic, and non.</p><p>The group followed Hermione through the house into the kitchen, looking around at everything in awe. Ginny was the only one who’d been there before, and even she had never made it past the great room where the shower had been held. </p><p>Hermione proudly led her friends to the drink table, where there was juice, wines, and harder alcohol to choose from. "Grab a drink, look around. Narcissa should be down with Gwen soon. She made a mess of herself with some carrots and needed cleaned up." She told them with a grin. The weather was nice, so Hermione had also set the back deck up to accommodate guests gathering there, as well. </p><p>Hermione looked distractedly from the kitchen towards the entryway, nervous about one guest in particular. She'd once again taken it upon herself to meddle, but this time she was sure it would go better. </p><p>"Aren't you going to have a drink?" Ginny asked Hermione as she made herself a glass of wine. </p><p>"Oh, no, I'm still breastfeeding. None for me." Hermione said with a smile. </p><p>Ginny pouted a little,  "Oh, come on, that's no fun! Just take a little break, I'm sure it'll be fine." Ginny insisted. </p><p>Hermione was about to argue with her, when Harry stepped in, shaking his head at Ginny. Hermione gave him a grateful smile, before excusing herself to go back to greeting guests, promising to find them later. </p><p>A few more guests arrived, a few of Draco's friends, Luna and Neville, along with their baby, and Hermione directed them all to the kitchen first and foremost, before leaving them to look around. Narcissa descended the stairs with Gwen, who was in a fresh outfit, her blond, springy curls free of carrots. Hermione moved to Draco's side as the next guest arrived, it was Andromeda, who had Teddy with her. </p><p>Andromeda caught Narcissa's eye, and gave her a smile. "Cissy, it's good to see you again." She greeted her, hoping to make it clear that she came in peace. </p><p>Narcissa wasn’t necessarily surprised to see her sister had come, but she was pleased to find that she’d done so without holding any additional grudge. She hoped that this time she would have a chance to better explain herself, and for Andromeda to see that she’d made the right choice. Perhaps if it weren’t for the spell Draco would have never shared the experiences he had with Granger to ultimately lead to him falling for her. “I’m happy you came, again. And you brought Teddy!” She was happy to be able to meet her great-nephew. “It’s kind of nice, isn’t it? That even though we didn’t get to see Nymphadora and Draco grow up together, at least their children might get to.” She offered a hopeful smile.</p><p>Draco was glad to have invited some of his friends over, as strange as it felt. None of his friends had returned to school the previous year. None of them had witnessed first hand how his relationship with Hermione had blossomed. When she joined his side again after leaving her friends to get drinks, Draco wrapped his arm around her middle and placed a kiss on the side of her head, watching his aunt and mother… make up? He hoped so anyway. “She did the right thing, you know,” Draco piped in, just to get it out of the way before the party began to fill up. “The spell might no longer have an effect on my feelings for Hermione, but I’m unable to forget the way that felt, to be so in love with her, and I never want to go a day not feeling that way. I don’t believe I ever will.”</p><p>Andromeda gave them both a smile, "I think that would be nice, for them to grow up together." She agreed with her sister, she didn't want Teddy to grow up without friends, after all, and she had realized after the baby shower how much she regretted being so hard on her sister. It was still difficult to forgive everything, but there was no denying that Narcissa was trying to change for the better. </p><p>"As I told Hermione in our correspondence, I'm very happy that things have worked out the way they did." She told Draco, before looking to her sister again. "And even though I brought it up out of concern, I am sorry that I made a display of it. That wasn't very nice of me." It was her way of apologizing for not being more discrete. </p><p>Narcissa simply nodded, and Draco went to speak before there was another ring of the doorbell. “It was just a reaction,” Narcissa said in understanding as Draco brought Hermione with him to the door to greet the newest guests. Before they could even be ushered inside more party guests arrived, and soon everyone had arrived.</p><p>Hermione followed Draco, happy to play the host and let Narcissa hold Gwen, for now. She thought it might help her to distract herself from the somewhat awkward reunion to have the baby to focus some of her attention on.</p><p>Andromeda moved closer to Narcissa, away from the entryway and the new guests. "Yes, yes it was a reaction, but I have also had some difficulty letting certain things go so that we can move past them. But I wanted you to know that I do want to move past them with you." Andromeda told her sister sincerely. "I can see that you've embraced Hermione into your family, that alone shows me how far you've truly come, and I don't wish to let the past keep us apart any longer." She held Teddy close as she spoke, mostly because he was attempting to escape her, keeping her voice low so that the group of younger guests that had moved into the great room wouldn't overhear her. </p><p>Draco had given his friends specific instruction on how Hermione was to be respected in their home and that if any of them had anything unkind to say about her they would be quickly booted from the party and most likely his life as well. He was rather surprised that they had all come, but he supposed some of them just wanted to see it with their own eyes, him in a relationship with Hermione Granger. He supposed his childhood hatred for her had always been one step away from infatuation. Potter might have been his nemesis, but Granger was his rival from the time they'd received their first letter grades. </p><p>Having so many Slytherins and Gryffindors in one party seemed like it should be a disaster waiting to happen, but he hoped now that the war was over his friends would have the decency to show at least some respect to the crew who quite literally vanquished the dark lord once and for all. </p><p>Once everyone had arrived, Draco and Hermione offered their friends a tour of the home, as it was a house warming after all. They went room by room, floor by floor, showing off the home they'd made for themselves. It was mostly his mother's doing of course, but they'd added their own touches along the way as well. </p><p>After the tour the guests broke apart into mingling groups, some out on the back deck, some in the kitchen mixing drinks, others enjoying the cool air in the sitting room. Draco wandered off to catch up with his friends, and Hermione found Harry, Ginny, Ron, and "Nora", his so far perfectly pleasant date out on the deck. Ginny and Nora sat with their feet in the pool, and that was where she joined them, slipping off her sandals, taking a seat at Ginny's side, and gratefully dipping both feet into the refreshingly cool water. </p><p>"So, things with you and Malfoy are really getting serious, aren't they?" Ginny asked in a teasing tone. </p><p>Hermione laughed. "What gave it away? The baby or the house?" </p><p>The others laughed as well, before Harry chimed in. "I think what Ginny means is, it wasn't that long ago that you were reluctant to let him have any involvement, wasn't it? What changed?"</p><p>Hermione looked at her friends, saw the intense curiosity they all had, and sighed. It was time to give them some more answers. "Alright, so, obviously when I first found out I was pregnant I was really upset, and I wanted nothing to do with Draco, but it turns out that the thing I was so upset with him about was actually a g<br/>misunderstanding." She sighed again while she thought of how to explain it without having to go into details about the idiotic bet. One hand found the pendant of her necklace and began to glide it back and forth along the chain absently. "I thought… he'd done something… dishonorable. And I spent all that time and energy hating him for it, and hating myself for actually falling for him for one stupid night. But I found out that he had nothing to do with… the thing I thought he did. There was nothing dubious about our night together. In fact when school started he seemed rather keen to pursue things further but I was so upset about what I thought I knew that I wouldn't give him the time of day."</p><p>Harry and Ron looked at each other doubtfully. They wanted to ask what it was they thought he'd done, but if she'd had any intention of telling she wouldn't have skirted around it to begin with. "So how did you find out he didn't do it?" Ron asked in hopes of a clue instead. </p><p>Hermione turned herself to face the boys. "Well I called him out on it, rather aggressively, and he had no idea that I was talking about. He was utterly perplexed and by the time he remembered the incident in question he assured me he had nothing to do with it." Hermione groaned. "I felt so stupid. If I'd only confronted him sooner things could have been so much different a year ago. We wouldn't have wasted so much time."</p><p>"Do you think he loves you?" Nora asked bravely, and Hermione was almost offended, but decided to respect the fact that she was part of the conversation, and wasn't obligated to pretend as if she wasn't there. </p><p>"I know he does," she answered. "When Gwendolyn was born I was so scared that the transference of Draco's affection was going to undo the months we'd spent bonding leading up to then, but… it didn't. He didn't waiver."</p><p>"So his mother did the amor patris tui charm?" Ginny asked, appalled. </p><p>Hermione nodded. "She did. And it worked, that man loves his daughter more than the air he breathes. It's really amazing to see."</p><p>"And it doesn't bother you that he feels that way because of a spell?" Harry challenged, a hint of indignation in his tone. </p><p>"No," she answered. "I suppose I could let it bother me, but why? We're happy, we're healthy, we've got something really special growing here. Sure, a year ago when I first took that pregnancy test I never in a million years could have predicted that this was where it'd bring me, but I wouldn't take it back."</p><p>"Is that why you kissed Viktor Krum at the Longbottom wedding?" Nora piped in again. Hermione was slightly offended this time, but didn't let it get to her. </p><p>"Viktor kissed me, and in his defense he didn't realize that Draco was Gwendolyn's father, or that we were in a relationship. In fact he had just offered to take care of us." Hermione smiled, looking out over the pool. "He's a really sweet man, and I really care about him a lot. I probably could have spent a lifetime with him and been perfectly happy. But it's not the same as being in love, is it?"</p><p>"I guess not. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious. My sisters were obsessed with Krum. They were so upset when they found out the Tri-Wizard tournament was taking place while they should have been at Hogwarts." </p><p>"Where were you instead?" Hermione inquired.</p><p>Nora smiled. "We're English of course but our family lived in Australia for ten years. We just came back a few months ago. We did our schooling there."</p><p>The mention of Australia made Hermione's heart ache. "My parents live in Australia, for two years now," she said with a forced smile, attempting to disuse her longing. She hadn't had a chance to reconcile their memories. There hadn't been time, she'd been too… pregnant. She didn't want to reunite with them like that. </p><p>"Oh really?" Nora said with a grin, not catching the hint of strain in Hermione's voice that the others had. "They're muggles aren't they? We lived in a mostly muggle neighborhood. My dad was muggle born so he figured it was better for us to be used to being around them."</p><p>"Yeah," Hermione agreed with a tight-lipped smile. "They have a dental practice in Capabala." At least, she assumed they still did. </p><p>Nora lit up at the mention of the small Redland city. "That's where we lived!" She laughed. "What a small world. Come to think of it I think we had neighbors who were dentists. Only they weren't called Granger. They were the… Wilsons? No that's not it… Williams..?"</p><p>"Wilkins," Hermione interrupted the thought, her breath catching. </p><p>Ron, Harry, and Ginny looked at Hermione with eyes wide with caution. They all knew, of course, that Hermione missed her parents greatly, and how scared she'd been about what she'd done to them, even if for their own safety. </p><p>Hermione stood, numbly, and headed back inside without a word, the other four staring after her, before Ginny jumped to her feet and followed after her. </p><p>"Did I say something wrong?" Nora asked, looking at Ron.</p><p>"No, er… she just, hasn't seen her parents in a long time…"</p><p>The party continued on with the three babies as the center of attention, but the young mother hosting and her redheaded girlfriend were nowhere to be found. After just more than half an hour Harry went off in search of them. </p><p>"Well that's not so bad, it's about the same as with Ron and me," Harry heard Ginny say when he finally found the girls, hidden away in Hermione and Draco's bedroom. They hadn't noticed him yet. "When did you find out?"</p><p>"The morning of the N.E.W.T. exams," Hermione answered, before Harry leaned against the open door, which creaked on is hinges, alerting the witches to his presence. Hermione looked at the door quickly, and sighed in relief when it was only him. </p><p>"Everyone's looking for you two," he told them, wondering with great curiosity what they were talking about. </p><p>"Right," Hermione realized, shaking her head. "Some host I've been." She got up off of the bed and straightened her clothes. "I haven't missed anything important have I?" She couldn't imagine what, but asked all the same. </p><p>"Not unless you count Malfoy pushing Nott into the pool, I can only assume in response to saying something tasteless about you."</p><p>Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line, but they curled up into a smirk not unlike that of her Slytherin mate. "Yes I'm betting so." She laughed a moment later at the unintended pun.</p><p>The three rejoined the party, Hermione still trying to shake off the relief of what she'd learned about her parents, and the nerve- wracking conversation she'd been having with Ginny. She was surprised to see that all of their guests were compiled in the great room, as many of them squeezed onto the couches as possible, the rest circle around them, and Hagrid had arrived, and was holding Gwendolyn easily in the palm of one hand. It was lucky that this room had such high ceilings, the half-giant needn't bend to fit. </p><p>Hermione looked around the room nervously, they were all watching her expectantly. "What's going on?" she asked apprehensively to Harry. </p><p>"Dunno," Harry replied unhelpfully. "Malfoy asked us all to gather round."</p><p>"Really?" Hermione looked around but she didn't see her boyfriend anywhere. "And just where is dear Draco?" Her tone was suspicious. After nearly a year of hiding herself away Hermione was uncomfortable with this many eyes on her. </p><p>From the kitchen, several trays of champagne-filled flutes floated their way into the room, offering themselves to the guests, who each took a glass until the empty trays floated away into the kitchen from whence they came. When at last Draco entered the room, he was holding a glass as well, and offered it to Hermione, who hadn't taken one for herself. Oddly, he didn't have one for himself. </p><p>"What are you up to?" Hermione asked him suspiciously, taking the glass though she hadn't intended to drink. Perhaps one glass wouldn't hurt, but she simply held it for now. </p><p>"Well," Draco started with a smile. "Since we have all of our friends here, I thought I'd just take a moment to express how lucky I am."</p><p>Hermione blushed, her heart fluttering with nerves. Did he have to do this so publicly? "Draco-"</p><p>He ignored her. "By now everyone in this room is aware that our relationship began under the influence of too much fire whiskey and the lack of a contraception charm."</p><p>"Draco!" Hermione's eyes went wide, her entire face turning pink now. But several people laughed quietly, as though not sure if they were allowed, and she cracked a thin smile herself, shaking her head with her fingers pressing against her forehead, wondering how much worse this speech was going to get. </p><p>Draco grinned at the look on her face and continued. "What you all don't know is that she didn't exactly wake up in horror of her mistake, as she would want you to believe. In fact if it wasn't for those complete idiots over there," Draco pointed to his friends, the ones who Hermione had overheard talking about the bet. "Things would have gone much differently this last year."</p><p>He reached into his pocket and extracted a small piece of parchment. "Because when I woke up the next morning, I found this." He showed the parchment to the audience of guests. He made a show of unfolding it and clearing his throat. </p><p>Hermione's eyes went wide when she realized what he held. "You still have that? You kept it?" She couldn't actually remember what she'd written in that note, but it had to have been something good to make him want to read it for everyone and further humiliate her. But her questions went unanswered as he began to read aloud. </p><p>"Don't go getting a big head or anything, but that was not a horrible way to spend an evening. I liked your tongue much better used that way than-"</p><p>Hermione ripped the note out of his hand. "That's enough of that!" She gave him a warning look, crumbling the note in her hand. The majority of the room was chuckling, unsure if they were permitted to be amused, though Ron's face was more red than hers, and Harry, too, looked scandalized, like he couldn't believe she'd written those words.</p><p>"The point is, I knew after reading that note that it was the start of something. It just took several months and a grave misunderstanding to get us there." He took her hand, and she tried to glare at him, but it was weak. "But now we're here," he indicated around the room with his free hand. "And I can't imagine my life any other way."</p><p>Hermione suddenly got the strangest feeling she knew where he was going with this, and her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. Sure enough, Draco reached that free hand now into his pocket, and as he did so he moved down onto one knee before her. "Oh God," she whispered to herself as her eyes followed his. </p><p>Draco extracted a red velvet circular box from his pocket, and opened it, revealing an ornate white gold band, a large princess-cut diamond in the center and smaller diamonds and sapphires alternating around the larger. "Hermione Granger, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Would you do me the honor in disgracing my family by becoming my wife?" </p><p>Hermione was experiencing a myriad of emotions. It was a challenge to continue being annoyed at him for his embarrassing speech when it had ended with a proposal, after all. She was hardly aware of the gasps, or how the room went shockingly silent while they waited for her to say something. Instinctively, Hermione stretched out her hand, spreading her fingers to let him put the ring on her.</p><p>"You're an absolute arse, Draco Malfoy," she told him, cracking a smile. "But yes, I will marry you." The ring slid up her finger and Hermione stared at it, still in shock at the sudden turn of events as Draco rose to his feet again. </p><p>The gathering of friends started on, and only when she had said yes did a chorus of cheers ring out through most of their friends. Mrs Weasley smiled, disappointed to not gain Hermione as a daughter in law but happy for her all the same. Ron drained his glass of champagne in one but resisted the urge to leave the room altogether. Ginny was clapping, and nudged Harry in the side to remind him to do the same. In the commotion, both infants began to cry. </p><p>Hermione shook her head as she was pulled into a tight hug by her fiance. She leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Probably a good call, because we're having another baby." She pulled away to observe the look of shock on his face.</p><p>"We're…"</p><p>Hermione nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "Guess we should have been more careful, again-" She barely got the sentence out before he pulled her into another, tighter embrace, kissing her deeply.</p>
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